The first essential item to prepare is the butter hotpot base. If you don’t prefer spicy flavours, you might try seeking out a non-spicy, solidified, oil-based hotpot base. A good base is crucial because it serves as the basis for soups and stir-fries, or can be used as a seasoning. The next essential item to prepare is a wok or steamer, along with the necessary utensils. Lastly, you'll need common kitchen staples like oil, salt and sugar, and it's best to have some MSG (monosodium glutamate) for umami-like flavor.

Stir-frying

The simplest way to give food that quintessential Chinese flavor is to add hotpot base paste when stir-frying. It can replace the oil one would normally use, followed by salt. This method works for stir-frying almost any green vegetable or meat. 

Cooking Noodles

After purchasing knife-cut noodles from an Asian supermarket, add noodles and water to the pan. Next, add some beef hotpot base and a full bag of another hotpot base called Three-Flavour Hotpot Base, along with vegetables and meat like beef or shrimp. Stir in a few spoonfuls of salt, then simmer in a steamer for 15 minutes to achieve the classic flavour of cooked noodles. 

Soup

Typically, to prepare a soup, add a small amount of hotpot paste, salt and oil to a beef stock base, along with vegetable beef or chicken bouillon. If you've grown weary of American-style stews, hotpot paste from Asian markets can greatly enhance the flavour of your soup. Subsequently, you may incorporate additional spicy paste and ingredients to transform it into a hotpot broth, or simply add vegetables, meat and tofu to create a soup suitable for drinking.

The above are some relatively simple cooking methods. Once you have gathered the right ingredients, nailing the Chinese style of flavors is a lot easier than one might think. More complex dishes like steamed crabs, braised spare ribs, and braised pork belly require more intricate preparation processes that can be further researched the more experienced one gets. However, once you get a hang of the basics, the culinary world is your oyster. Once you give it a shot, cooking can truly be a vessel for a more dignified campus life. ✮