How to eat dolsot bibimbap

돌솥 (dolsot) is the stone bowl. 비빔밥 (bibimbap) means mixed rice. Put the two together and you have rice, seasoned vegetables, usually a protein and an egg, arranged in a vessel that reaches the table hot enough to keep cooking on its own.

The plain version arrives in a normal bowl and is mixed cold. The stone version keeps a heat source at the table, which is what produces the crust at the bottom. It is the dish that named this house: The Bibimbab Family of Companies has cooked it in Bangkok since 2010.

Six moves. None of them is difficult, and the order matters more than the technique.

1. 01

   Let it settle

   The bowl arrives loud and stays hot for a long time. Give it a moment before you touch it. The rice against the stone is already toasting while you wait.

2. 02

   Season it

   Add gochujang, the Korean red pepper paste, a little at a time. If sesame oil comes with the bowl, add that too. Both are meant to be adjusted by the person eating.

3. 03

   Mix from the bottom

   Turn the rice up through the vegetables with your spoon until the colour is even and nothing sits in its own corner. Bibimbap is not eaten in layers. The mixing is the dish.

4. 04

   Press rice against the wall

   Push a layer of rice flat against the hot side of the bowl and leave it there while you eat the rest. The stone keeps working long after the kitchen has let go of it.

5. 05

   Take the soup alongside

   A bowl of soup usually comes with it. Drink it between mouthfuls rather than at the end. It resets the palate against the pepper paste.

6. 06

   Eat the crust last

   That toasted layer at the bottom is called nurungji. Scrape it up with the edge of your spoon when the rest is gone. It is the reason to order a stone bowl at all.

Less than looks right, then more if you want it. The paste is salty as well as hot, and the vegetables have already been seasoned in the kitchen. Add about half, mix, taste, then adjust. Pepper paste cannot be taken back out of a bowl.

Nurungji: the layer of rice that toasts against a hot pot or bowl. In a dolsot it forms while you eat, which is exactly why the stone bowl exists. It should be gold and crisp rather than dark, and it lifts cleanly with the edge of a spoon.

Spoon for the bowl, chopsticks for the side dishes. Korean tables use both at once. The mixing is easier with a spoon because you need to lift rice from the bottom, not pinch it from the top.

Bibimbap is a vegetable-centred dish by nature, and several other dishes are built the same way. Common versions also carry beef and an egg, and sauces differ. If you need strictly vegetarian or vegan cooking, call the branch before you visit and the kitchen will advise on what it can prepare that day. Branch numbers are on the locations page.

At The Bibimbab, the original brand of this family. The Bibimbab is the original table of the family: a Korean house-cuisine brand opened in Bangkok in 2010, serving dolsot bibimbap, soups and the Korean classics across Thailand under The Bibimbab Co., Ltd. These are the dining rooms.

• Sukhumvit 24Sukhumvit, Bangkok092-276-8282
• Mega Bangna2nd floor, Bangna, Bangkok083-738-8282
• Siam ParagonGround floor, Pathum Wan, Bangkok083-728-8282
• EmQuartierB floor, Phrom Phong, Bangkok093-161-8282
• Pattaya Sai 2Chonburi, Pattaya088-326-8282
• IconSiam6th floor, Charoen Nakhon, Bangkok082-380-8282
• CentralPlaza Grand Rama 9B1 floor, Ratchada, Bangkok083-730-8282
• One BangkokB1 floor, Rama IV, Bangkok080-821-5233

Delivery is cooked at United Nations ESCAP, the family’s central kitchen and recipe lab. Call 02-662-1122 to order. If you would rather sit at a griddle instead, read how a Hwaro table works.