When the temperature goes down, the hot pot goes up. Nothing beats a boiling pot of spicy stew to relax over at dinner with friends or family in the midst of winter, and though Sichuan-style remains the most popular, there are many others out there to make your mouths water just as much.

Due to a special Chinese spice known as hua jiao, which is used in the soup base and is shaped like peppercorn, Sichuan and Chongqing hot pot often create a unique sensation of numbness on the tongue that evokes the feeling of drinking carbonated water.

Although many people associate la (the spicy taste from chili) with Sichuan hot pot, it is actually ma (numbness) that makes it different. As much as people love Sichuan hot pot, those who look for something new in the spirit of spice may discover something they like even more in the following hot suggestions.

Mushroom Yunnan

Mushroom is a staple of Yunnan cuisine and is also the soup base of Yunnan hot pot. Usually containing various rare mushrooms that are only found in Yunnan, such as boletaceae and Sarcodon aspratus, the soup base is drinkable and considered healthy and nutritious. Mushroom, Yunnan tilapia fish, tofu and assorted vegetables are the typical ingredients of Yunnan hot pot. Plain beef and chicken slices are also usually available on the menu.

There are usually two soup bases to choose from, spicy and non-spicy. The tiny Yunnan red pepper xiaomila does not cause the soup to appear as red as the Sichuan style, but can create a burning hot sensation many times stronger.

The sauces or condiments used to dip the cooked food also feature xiaomila, and preserved tofu sauce is the most popular hot pot garnish among such potential dipping implements as sesame paste, sesame oil and seafood sauce.

Sour Guizhou

Like its neighboring provinces of Hunan and Sichuan, Guizhou also boasts a rich chili-and-peppers culture, but with a distinctly sour tint. A proverb in Guizhou even says that one can not walk properly if one hasn't eaten sour dish in the past three days.

Guizhou offers many varieties of hot pot, such as clear goose hot pot and Miao minority-style sour soup fish hot pot, considered the most famous of Guizhou hot pots.

Sour pickles and tomato mix form the base for the soup, also causing the sour soup fish hot pot to appear even redder than Sichuan style hotpot due to heavy tomato use, though the spicy taste is mild and the soup is even quite drinkable.

Clear Vietnamese

Vietnamese hot pot looks as clear as the country's famous pho, but contains a rich flavor due to its abundance of aromatic ingredients and herbs.

Vietnamese hot pot stock usually consists of water, straw mushrooms, lemon grass, lemon leaves, parsley, fresh lime, fresh chili and mint leaves, all of which lend a pungent flavor similar to Thai Tom Yum soup.

Vietnamese hot pot is served in Vietnam all year around (there is no winter in Vietnam), but many Vietnamese restaurants in China, like the well-known Nudge in Beijing's Houhai area, only offer hot pot during the chilly months of winter.

The signature ingredients to soak in the sour and hot clear soup usually include beef, glass noodles, cabbage and fresh seafood. The cooked food is usually eaten with fish sauce, which has a strong raw fish flavor, or soy sauce, which produces a milder, less astringent taste.

Hot and Sour Thai

A bit similar to Vietnamese style, Thai hot pot also uses a wide arrange of pungent herbs, but the addition of coconut milk causes the soup base to taste heavier and much stronger.

The ingredients are usually cooked in a “royal-style” metal pot that the Thai people usually use to serve other dishes like chicken curry.

The dipping sauce contains vinegar, lime juice, chopped garlic, coriander leaves and other fragrant spices. Common soup bases for Thai hot pot include non-spicy clear chicken soup, spicy hot and sour soup and red curry soup that do not necessarily need dipping sauce.

The best thing you can do with this variety of hot pot is to simply drink the soup, which is comparable to the more famous Tom Yam soup in richness. However, compared to Sichuan style hot pot, the Thai variety is lower in cholesterol and oil.

Kimchi Korean

Just as Kimchi plays a major role in spicing up most Korean dishes, so too does it make a major appearance in Korean hot pot.

Kimchi hot pot is the most well-known and well-received among the different varieties of Korean hot pot. The dish is mostly served in winter in Korean restaurants. As opposed to Sichuan-style hot pot, the Korean varieties usually are served alongside a set meal containing a small soup base, beef, tofu cubes, mushrooms, squid rings, noodles and other savory delicacies.

Armed with a big bowl of Kimchi cabbage, Korean hot pot is probably the quickest and easiest hot pot one can make at home.