Asian Hot Pot
 

Living in Asia for the past decade, I have eaten many hot pot meals.

Taiwanese hot pot, Japanese nabe / shabu shabu, Chinese Sichuan Mala hot pot, Beijing hot pot, Korean Jjigae and the list goes on.

Generally speaking, I enjoy the flavors. I really enjoy the social aspects of these types of meals.

However, they all make my stomach queasy.

What causes this? The only thing I can see in common is hot water, which should not make one nauseous.

Asian Hot Pot
 

Eating too much of them?

that tends to be my problem-once I start I just can't stop :D

Maybe you're not cooking your meat all the way through. Or could be the MSG.

Yeah this might be your problem, buddy.
Since you're sitting in front of it and the smell is so good, you often takes the food out right after like 30 seconds after you put the food in (since it has the new color)
Does 30 seconds seems like enough for the food to be done. Oh no, it's not.:p

I dislike both. A lot.

Boiled raw meat (without searing first) is awful, except chicken.
Cooking at your table, I don't get the appeal.
Extended socializing and eating don't go together well.
Some of the worst meals I've had in Asia, and I LOVE Asian food.

Never got sick from it though.

yep, that is true. But if you get used to it, it's not that bad.
Just don't get too eager on the table and you will be just fine.
Most of Asian foods have to have something to deal with boiled water. Though I've read somewhere that it's not good for your stomach or whatsoever...

Hotpot also doesn't agree with my stomach, although there is a great variance on the level of discomfort.

From most agreeable to least, here is my personal list:

1) Nabe
2) Shabu Shabu
3) Beijing/Dongbei style
4) Sichuan style, especially mala

Other factors include:
1) Quality of the restaurant
-this isn't strictly correlated with price (e.g. I'm cool with big chains such as Xiaofeiyang and Hot Pot King even though they aren't expensive... though I will say that the really expensive spots in Shanghai tend to be pretty good, even if not worth their insane prices)
2) How nuts you go with the sauces and soup bases
-Mala alone is enough to set me off, but combining it with raw garlic, peanuts, chili oil, vinegar is just asking for trouble

I still enjoy eating hotpot (including the social aspects). I just know that some sort of stomach meds might be necessary post meal.

I enjoy the "hot pot" type of meals when in Thailand. Love the "soup" that is eaten at the end.

A possible source of sickness is cross-contamination. Be certain not to put your cooked meat back onto the plate which had the raw meat, etc.

Cross contamination at hot pot dinner is a major issue. In a proper modern hotpot restaurant you will be given two sets of utensils, one for raw and one for cooked.

Secondary issues are food not cooked properly.

Third: what are you having to drink with the hotpot? Beer and sour plum soup/tea (酸梅湯) are recommended. I always have one or the other at hot pot. (Especially if you are using the traditional charcoal fired pot with the chimney in the middle and the soup around that)

OR you are just not use to the spices or your digestive system does not handle the spices well.