Fall in Love with the Charm of Korean Dolsotbap! (a.k.a. Stone Pot Rice)

Koreans typically cook rice using an electric rice cooker, but recently, there has been a growing trend of cooking rice in more special ways. One of these methods is sotbap and dolsotbap (a.k.a. stone pot rice). These methods go beyond just cooking rice; they enhance the flavor and texture of the dish. When cooking rice in a stone pot, you can add seasonal ingredients to create variations like abalone sotbap, bean sprout sotbap, and nutrient-rich sotbap.

at DUBU GONG BANG, every meal comes with freshly cooked, warm rice served in a stone pot(Dolsot). You can also choose gondre (wild vegetable) stone pot rice if you prefer.

The Unique Tradition of Cooking Rice in a Stone Pot

Dolsotbap has its own special charm. Thanks to the properties of the stone pot, the rice is cooked evenly, and the heat stays high, allowing you to enjoy warm rice throughout the meal. Additionally, after finishing the rice, you can pour water into the pot to enjoy the crispy rice at the bottom (nurungji) and drink the savory broth (sungnyung), offering a unique dining experience.  
The popularity of dolsotbap in Korea began to rise in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In particular, the restaurant Jungang Hoegwan in Jeonju, a city in the southern part of Korea, was the first to develop dolsotbibimbap (stone pot bibimbap). The restaurant’s owner, seeking to differentiate from other bibimbap restaurants, created a stone pot that could keep bibimbap warm longer, offering a new dining experience. At that time, dolsotbap was considered a luxury dish, but in the 1980s, as Korea's rice self-sufficiency rate exceeded 90%, many people were able to enjoy it more easily. Particularly in the back alleys of Jongno, an area frequently visited by office workers, Jonggak Restaurant saw more than 150 customers lining up for lunch, creating a spectacle. The restaurant became popular not just because of its dolsotbap, but also because it included various ingredients like jujubes, chestnuts, pine nuts, meat, seafood, and vegetables, making the dish incredibly nutritious.

The Various Twists on Rice

Rice cooked in an electric rice cooker and rice cooked in a stone pot have a noticeable difference in aroma and taste. Dolsotbap (a.k.a. stone pot rice) is particularly rich and full of depth. Even plain dolsotbap, with no added ingredients, has an incredibly delicious flavor, but gondre dolsotbap is an exquisite delicacy.
Gondre, a specialty from Korea’s Gangwon Province, has a mild taste and pleasant aroma. It is rich in plant-based protein and dietary fiber, making it effective for preventing constipation and lowering blood cholesterol. Unlike white rice, it has a light green hue, and it becomes even more delicious when paired with soy sauce.  

If you’re ready for spring, make sure to try Gondre Dolsotbap!