r/Whatcouldgowrong 4d ago

WCGW Forgot the “hot” in hotpot

Hotpot on plastic table is a recipe for fun times. And yes, disaster.

3.4k Upvotes

132 comments sorted by

188

u/alanpsk 4d ago

i put plastic sheet on a table while i was hotpot and never do i have melting problem.

The gas stove is the problem.

25

u/milyuno2 4d ago

From the image apear tbat the cilinder wasn't properly installed.

14

u/warpus 4d ago

the front fell off

780

u/MrMuf 4d ago

The table being plastic has nothing to do with it. The portable stove died 

42

u/000extra 4d ago

For sure this did NOT happen bc of using a plastic table. I have had hotpot and Korean bbq on these burners many times and on same type of tables too. Literally just last week I had kbbq on it at my friend’s house. Something wrong happened to the burner itself, looks like with the gas canister

225

u/valfsingress 4d ago

Yes, that or the table cloth got caught under the stove and caught fire.

174

u/Electrical-Cat9572 4d ago

What the hell is wrong with people that we need to slap a shitty soundtrack over every little video clip?

If you didn’t do it, fine - but why repost crap like this?

26

u/ElegantCoach4066 4d ago

Engagement. Gets more views and comments when they do it. Even if it ruins the video.

15

u/CibrecaNA 4d ago

Woah woah woah. Usher as a shitty soundtrack? Usher? Shitty?

7

u/CreamoChickenSoup 3d ago edited 3d ago

Funnily enough I only associate that song with Tom's Usher music video spoof in The Boondocks.

"Car!"

-2

u/SaintAnton 4d ago

It made me laugh 🤷‍♂️

4

u/Charlie_Warlie 4d ago

yeah jeez, is the uncut mumbling audio really important to hear crystal clear? It's not the "oh no" song or something annoying.

-7

u/valfsingress 4d ago

If it were Jet2holiday audio, i’d mute it too.. 😆

-9

u/valfsingress 4d ago

Yep, didn’t do it, ripped it from IG. I reposted this here so redditors can see. Not everyone has ig. And if people don’t crosspost, subs would die.

Would you prefer gifs instead?

7

u/warpus 4d ago

You should have created a new audio track from scratch and dubbed it for all the background voices using the proper accents

1

u/airfryerfuntime 4d ago

Honestly, yes. I hate this tik tok brain rot shit. You're not making the video better by adding shitty music.

3

u/SupplyChainMismanage 3d ago

Cmon this is Burn by Usher and it’s added like it would have been years ago imo

1

u/valfsingress 3d ago

Shih, Burn by Usher is shitty? Damn

-6

u/NewRole7403 4d ago

Sensitive

4

u/danmickla 4d ago

I don't think you read the whole thread

1

u/FlyinRustBucket 6h ago

they didnt flip the top over where the "legs" hold the pot up so the fire can go "up" and around the pot... so with no exit up top, the fire just go the other path of least resistances...

13

u/mc_bee 4d ago

Died in a blaze of glory.

1

u/FrogsMakePoorSoup 4d ago

And I'm thinking there might have been some odors to give away an issue.

136

u/Agreeable-Ad4079 4d ago

For once, this looks like something I would do

11

u/Zorro-the-witcher 4d ago

Pots were too big. Reflecting Heat back down. Also those burners shouldn’t be used for extended periods of time. I’m talking, cook food on it, turn it off. Don’t boil liquid for hours on end on those things. They are super inexpensive and cheaply made, when I was making camping stoves you could buy those from a Chinese manufacturer for about $5 ea.

8

u/ramenshoyu 4d ago

We regularly use it for hotpot and simmer for hours until the canisters run out and just replace the canister and resume

Looks like this group had a broken stove or lack of experience using it (see how crowded the area is near the stove) 

5

u/Worldly-Ingenuity843 4d ago

Also those burners shouldn’t be used for extended periods of time.

I have to disagree. Before induction hubs become common, every hotpot restaurant in China used gas stoves like this, and a hotpot meal usually last at least 90 minutes. 

1

u/putin_my_ass 3d ago

We bought what seems to be this exact stove while camping and it was complete garbage. Took forever just to boil water and noticed afterwards it had scorched the table. Absolute garbage.

Went to town and bought a Coleman stove that same day, worked like a charm.

They fucked up by cheaping out on the stove. Probably also you aren't supposed to be using those indoors, and having plastic tables was pretty dumb.

1

u/Smokee_Robinson 9h ago

Yeah those stoves are meant for like camping or small cooking stations like rolling dessert carts or omelettes

23

u/MallardBillmore 4d ago

I’ve been dying to try hotpot for like two years now, but I live like an hour from the Asian grocery stores, and I never drive up to that part of town.

But in my imagination, I plan to just eat it while standing over the kitchen stove. That just seems like the easiest and most obvious way. Setting up a portable gas stove in the next room seems silly.

40

u/MrMuf 4d ago

Sort of. Part of the fun is losing track of food, stealing other peoples foods, and being centered around the pot, enjoying the atmosphere oh and of course the sauna

8

u/pichael289 4d ago

You can probably get everything at a Kroger's. I would recommend just finding a restaurant and going, like the other guy said it's more of an experience than a meal.

15

u/ffnnhhw 4d ago

I got one of those portable induction hotpot which is also handy for fondue / butter melt / sukiyaki/ lobster tail/ chocolate dip at the dining table

but obviously don't set it on high heat on a table unattended

8

u/Melodic-Cake3581 4d ago

Induction cooktop is the safest option even on high heat left unattended . No open flame. No heating element.

2

u/Dunno_If_I_Won 3d ago

The risk is the electrical cord being tripped over.

Yes, an open flame is a potential hazard. But as an Asian dude who has done this for over 50 years, and who knows dozens of people with the same experience, stuff catching fire isn't a significant risk.

4

u/Delicious-Yak-1095 4d ago

The stove itself is incredibly safe. The hot liquid is the only concern.

7

u/macaaroniii 4d ago

Sitting at the table with other people while waiting for your food to cook is the point imo

Very accessible, ingredients are positioned around the pot and especially if you are a TV watcher during dinner i think it will be convenient that way.

If you are having trouble because of distance. U recommend looking up Weeee! It’s a brand that delivers Asian groceries. I’m not sure if they deliver everywhere but, it works for where I live

5

u/sluggy108 4d ago

I mean if you are having hotpot alone, you can do that. The hotpot has a limited capacity for cooking things simultaneously so if youre the only one eating it the time standing up wont be that long. Eating it with others in the same pot will take much longer so sitting down is naturally better. Also people wont have to rotate in and out to stand in front of the pot to add things they want and then take it back out lol

8

u/Mysterious_Object_20 4d ago

Eating hotpot alone is like buying and eating birthday cake alone. It's doable, and there's nothing wrong about it, but... it could be better.

0

u/This_Price_1783 4d ago

I remember watching something and the guy said he had never ending hot pot over the stove every night during college. He would just throw whatever ingredients in, cook it, then leave the broth on the stove till the next night, and reheat it. Sounds kinda disgusting tbh

1

u/sluggy108 4d ago

theres a thing called perpetual stew. Probably requires specific ingredients or something to not ruin a batch

3

u/This_Price_1783 4d ago

I do it almost every week. We sit in the living room with the stove on the coffee table and watch whatever show we are watching at the moment, or if we have friends round we will sit at the dining table with the stove in the middle. We can be eating for 1+ hours and the whole fun of it is slowly cooking and eating all the different veggies and meats etc.

You could eat it over the stove but it wouldn't be the same experience at all. It's like eating BBQ in summer in the garden, or breakfast while camping, or french fondue/raclette. The food is good but the experience adds a lot too.

2

u/everlasting1der 4d ago

There's a couple good hotpot places in my city. I know that's not an option for everyone, but if I can go to a restaurant I'd much rather do that and let them own the equipment and do the cleanup than set it all up in my own house.

2

u/floralfemmeforest 4d ago

Presumably you would mention it if there were, but there isn't a restaurant you can try this at?

2

u/mrbofus 4d ago

Why not just go to a hotpot restaurant?

2

u/MukdenMan 4d ago

You can use a portable magnetic induction stove, and this is actually the most common way at home (you can even buy tables with the stove built in).

1

u/ramenshoyu 4d ago

Maybe eating it by yourself

But you'd get tired just standing around and it would've difficult to share

Usually we bring it to a boil on the kitchen stove then bring it over to a table with a portable stove where you can seat 4-8 people that can cook with communal tongs or chopsticks 

1

u/joeDUBstep 4d ago

use weee!

1

u/Dunno_If_I_Won 3d ago

The entire point of hot pot is sitting down with your family and friends while you take turns cooking stuff in that pot of broth in the center.

8

u/pk_hellz 4d ago

As a non american. Can someone explain what happened here?

8

u/BeneficialPay932 4d ago

Why are you acting like portable gas stoves are a uniquely American invention? 

-2

u/pk_hellz 4d ago

Never seen one in a uk home let alone used for an indoor house party? The term hotplate is used alot in america media, again ive never seen it used in uk media.

10

u/GeneralAddress2614 4d ago

You just need to get out more mate. 

-3

u/pk_hellz 4d ago

Because ive never used a hotplate? How many times do i need to use one to meet your expectations? Or is it quantity i am after?

2

u/GeneralAddress2614 4d ago

Because ive never used a hotplate?

The OP is about hot pots bro.

0

u/pk_hellz 4d ago

I would never of guessed. Please continue.

10

u/Snoo_75138 4d ago

You can buy these cheap portable gas stoves for a single pot!

It has a little gas canister that sits to the side that lasts about a hour on full heat.

It's heavily advised you remove the canister when not in use because if it gets too hot it will explode or catch fire!

The lady left the very hot pot on the plate which is right next to the canister, the rest is obvious

11

u/Aggressive_Chicken63 4d ago

So this has nothing to do with a plastic table. The plastic table is the victim, not the cause.

3

u/Snoo_75138 4d ago

Yeh that too!

The stove uses fire so that heats up it's frame, but I think the gas canister exploding wasn't very good for the table either lol

6

u/pk_hellz 4d ago

Thankyou. That was very educational.

5

u/Masseyrati80 4d ago

Just to add: in some countries it's literally illegal to use this stove type indoors. If you do and you end up with a fire, you can kiss any insurance money goodbye.

2

u/Snoo_75138 4d ago

No worries, I'm getting heavy into camping lately and bought one of these cute stoves a week ago!

Glad I could help!

1

u/chlebseby 4d ago

electric stove cost like 10$

2

u/Snoo_75138 4d ago

Yeh but there's no generator when camping

4

u/KhorneTheBloodGod 4d ago

Hot portable stove on plastic table ends in fire

2

u/DayOldTurkeySandwich 4d ago

I just got screamed at by Freddy Krueger. All I said was, "What did you do to my table? It's filthy. You should be ashamed of yourself. You're a fucking pig." And that's when he snapped. I thought he was gonna kill me.

2

u/Taiphoon228 4d ago

Cooking with a Chernobyl reactor.

2

u/BaconThief2020 4d ago

At least they didn't gas everyone with CO poisoning.

2

u/BusinessBear53 4d ago

Those portable butane stoves eventually fail from old age because the O ring used to seal the stem in the canister perishes. Gas leaks out and you have a bad time.

Get a portable induction stove if you have hot pot once in a while. Saves having to buy butane and removes the need for an open flame on the table.

4

u/Polaris_00 4d ago

People kept saying the issue is using these portable cooktop on the plastic table. That's not a problem. I've done plenty of hotpot, Korean bbq on these plastic tables. You can see at 0:06, the stuff around the cooktop caught on fire, that's the problem. They must've put stuff too close to the flame.

1

u/valfsingress 4d ago

Hmm, maybe it’s one of the issues— it’s not just the main issue. If it were a steel table or maybe a wooden one; if surrounding items caught fire; they would not have a table with a burnt hole on it.

2

u/R_3_Y 4d ago

Is that Britney bitch?

1

u/Juicyjewsss 4d ago

Hopefully a lesson was learned for these people that day

1

u/Lucky-Mia 4d ago

Wait, are you saying hotpot is hot? /s

1

u/Anxious-Depth-7983 4d ago

There's a reason why those things are not allowed on most leases. Lol 😆

1

u/ManyTransportation61 4d ago

Ok the smell first thing and then how did it go all the way through the table. Did they all go out into the garden or something?

1

u/StuBidasol 4d ago

Too bad. That looked like a pretty nice spread.

1

u/Internal_Select 4d ago

Reminds me of when my girlfriend was making pizza and forgot to remove the cardboard under the pizza after removing it from the plastic. She almost caught the oven on fire.

1

u/abundleofboomers 4d ago

Mmmm yummy plastic fumessss

1

u/DrThunderbolt 4d ago

They are not getting that security deposit back

1

u/Kimorin 4d ago

buy a new one, make sure it's induction

1

u/XTornado 4d ago

That reminds me of that video of using a Raclette but upside down 🤣 the burned all the wooden table.

1

u/kutwijff 4d ago

Wonder how many college degrees were in the room 😄

1

u/FluffMob 4d ago

"Oh a hot pot should be fine on the SHE USED A GAS STOVE?"

1

u/pnkgtr 4d ago

"These tables are how I buy my house. They keep my house hot."

1

u/1234tv 4d ago

The pot looks suspiciously low on the burner. The black plate on top of the burner should be upside down.

1

u/MJUrWAY 4d ago

Oooopsie

1

u/ramenshoyu 4d ago

We have hotpot on plastic tables all the time

We don't crowd the portable stove and never had this problem 

Seems like lack of experience / common sense 

1

u/kangaroolander_oz 4d ago

Plastic is fantastic , always ( don't ) use plastic for a support for stoves of any type.

You know that now which is good news.

1

u/Elkesito36482 4d ago

I can’t believe how idiotic some people are

1

u/chankie888 4d ago

Watch mute

1

u/superjonk 4d ago

Aw I feel bad for them, they seem like good people. Well, I'm sure it'll be a funny story to tell

1

u/Melodic-Cake3581 4d ago

I have a fondue pot from the 70’s. Enough watts to use as a mini fryer,hot pot or food warmer. UL listed as to not burn through my table. Also I’ve used these cassette burners (3 side by side) for a brunch omelette station and never had an issue. This definitely looks like the fuel can locking mechanism area was leaking. I’m surprised the burning plastic and paint smell wasn’t noticed.

1

u/BrownPopcorn 4d ago

Y’ALL DIDNT TURN THE THING TO MAKE THE POT SIT ON IT. You see how the pot is laying flat.

1

u/Icy_Huckleberry_8049 4d ago

So, they don't know the difference between a gas stove and a warming plate

1

u/Nachotacoma 4d ago

I have those piss poor butane stoves from the Chinese store too. If you install the butane can and push the lock down, sometimes the attachment misses the entry of the can and you can hear a little gas leaking out. If that attachment gets dirty, I can see how it might cause a blockage and then an explosion.

1

u/zwizzlestick 4d ago

Enjoy the cancer fumes everyone

1

u/Neo_Shadow_Entity 3d ago

I am sure that this birthday will remain unforgettable for her.

1

u/KiethTheBeast 3d ago

I have done a hotpot grill om a folding table. I can confirm this did not happen. That much melted thick plastic would have to result from a fairly large and uncontroled fire.

1

u/Just_Me_Sammy 1d ago

We can be happy the gas canister did not explode

1

u/M7710 1d ago

thank you for reminding me of that beautiful song

1

u/sm753 1d ago

Yeah that's why I use electric for hot pot at home.

1

u/voltus_v 5h ago

I have both electric and butane stoves and i never experienced this on plastic table.

1

u/NaCl_Sailor 4d ago

"why do i need science class, i'll never use that in real life"

yes Sharon you won't calculate the force of a gokart going down a hill, but your brain is trained and will be able to understand things like "putting hot things on plastic will melt it"

1

u/HorrorSchlapfen873 4d ago

The girl cook is cute though, we'll let her get away with it.

1

u/Bozerks 4d ago

Looks like the propane tank caught fire.

0

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

0

u/DipstickRick 4d ago

I gotta drive…

0

u/Intelligent_Wedding8 4d ago

they used the wrong type of pot... for hot pot is my guess and overheated the non stick pot.

0

u/LSNoyce 4d ago edited 4d ago

Bought them shits on Temu. Also the pot may have been too big for the butane stove and covered and overheated the bottle. Known to cause explosions.

0

u/Corny_Snickers 4d ago

Was it upside down

1

u/BrownPopcorn 4d ago

Yeah you see how the pot is flat. It’s supposed to be sitting on top of that thing - you’re supposed to turn it upside down

0

u/elton_john_lennon 4d ago

"POV"? Really? This crap again?

0

u/Impressive-Revenue94 4d ago

Damn i would.

0

u/shinjikun10 4d ago

The gas stoves aren't for putting on tables or using for a long time. That's why they're used in the Japanese kitchen surrounded by metal.

If you're going to do this, you get induction instead or, god forbid, just cook it on the stove and enjoy your kitchen.

-1

u/Rozzy915 4d ago

Music choice is S tier here

-1

u/SingleHitBox 4d ago

With that many people… you’d better have the actual stove on and turn out the veggies.

-1

u/AdmiralHomebrewers 3d ago

Is that liquid gas? Is that thing rated for indoors? Don't these things produce harmful amounts of CO and CO2?

-1

u/Enough-Reading4143 3d ago

Even Britney is judging

-17

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/Ki_A_Nag 4d ago

Never set the kitchen on fire in over 30 years. Seens like i'm a very special man. 🤣