When the folks at Komart Marketplace (1049 Gessner, 713-984-2277) refer to dish No. 5, the dolsot bibimbop ($5), as “hot pot,” they mean it literally. The “dolsot,” which means stone pot, can only be handled with well-insulated gloves, and because it’s so hot, it continues to cook all the ingredients inside. “Bibimbop” means stirred or mixed rice; white rice layers the bottom of the pot, and as time goes on, it forms a hard, golden crust which is much prized. Glass noodles, strips of carrots, bean sprouts, strips of seaweed and strips of what appear to be fried tofu form the main ingredients, with a raw egg sitting atop everything. When the dish arrives, you pierce the egg with a chopstick and swirl it around the hot pot so it cooks, binding all of the ingredients together. It all comes with sides of kimchi and pickled daikon (white radish).
This article appears in Nov 13-19, 2008.