"From bread to rice"...Why do Koreans fall in love with hot stone pot rice?

"From bread to rice"...Why do Koreans fall in love with hot stone pot rice?

 

 

 

Tomato rice (left) and eggplant rice. [우리의식탁 제공]

 

 

 

[Herald Economy = Reporter Yook Sung-yeon]

 

After the pandemic, people who fought the "Three Meals a Day War" at home increased their purchase of simple meal bread instead of rice.

 

However, recently, those who are tired of bread or convenience food seem to be showing "serious" toward rice again.

 

Instead, it's not the same normal rice as before. A trendy and luxurious meal is the trend these days.

 

It's "Sotbap(Hot Stone Pot Rice)."

 

 

 

 

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"One bowl of Cooking" Trend...Spreading the Hot Stone Pot Rice Trend

 

 

 

 

Recently, Sotbap with various toppings has become popular. [우리의식탁 제공]

 

 

 

 

It was the 'one bowl dish' trend that led to the trend of hot stoen pot rice.

Those who wanted to eat home-cooked meals again but were burdened with complicated Korean food preparation began to pay attention to the trend of cooking one bowl.

They are foods that are completed with only one bowl without any side dishes, such as rice topped with rice and hot stoen pot rice.

 

"One Bowl of Cooking" is a key keyword selected as the "Home Meal Trend of the Year" on the content commerce platform 우리의식탁.

According to a big data analysis of 1 million users and about 3,000 menus by 우리의식탁 last year, the popularity of hot stone pot rice was especially high among one bowl of dishes.

 

An official from 우리의식탁 said, "The charm of the hot stone pot rice is that you can set a special table with just one bowl," adding, "You can also enjoy the rich taste of the season by adding seasonal ingredients like eggplant or shepherd's purse(냉이).

 

"The most popular hot stone pot rice menu on 우리의식탁 is in the order of eggplant hot stone pot rice, burdock hot stone pot rice, and pine mushroom hot stone pot rice, and eggplant hot stone pot rice is so hot that it ranks at the top of the overall "one bowl recipe" ranking.

 

In line with the trend of hot stone pot rice, this big data analysis showed that in addition to earthen pot type(뚝배기) pots, iron pots with color and design gained popularity. A case in point is the "iron casting pot" of Le Creuset, a French kitchenware company.

 

 

 

 

CJ제일제당의 ‘햇반 솥반’(왼쪽), 르크루제의 ‘무쇠 주물냄비’. [CJ제일제당·르크루제 제공]

 

 

 

 

Not only abalone and oyster rice, but also rice with seasonal ingredients such as chodang corn(초당옥수수), or high-quality ingredients such as steak and seaperch(금태) (high-quality fish species) are popular in restaurant companies. Examples include a "도꼭지식당" restaurant famous for sea bream hot stone pot rice, and a "호우섬" restaurant with Hong Kong-style hot stone pot rice (Pojjaipan) with shrimp meatballs.

 

Hot stone pot rice also appeared in the instant rice market.

CJ CheilJedang(CJ제일제당) launched the patented 'Hatban Potban(햇반 솥반)' in 2021.

As of January this year, the acumulative sales volume of this product exceeded 10 million.

An official from CJ CheilJedang said, "We focused on the long-term growth potential of hot stone pot rice based on data (Nice Genie Data, 나이스지니데이타) that the sales amount of hot stone pot rice continues to increase in the dining menu," adding, "We developed hot stone pot rice as demand for 'healthy and nice rice that can be properly eaten' increases."

 

 

 

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Trendy, high-end nutritional and simple one-person table setting

 

 

 

다양한 식재료를 올린 솥밥, [우리의 식탁 제공]

 

 

 

 

Why is pot rice exceptionally popular among one bowl of dishes?

Although scenes of famous celebrities cooking and eating hot stone pot rice were frequently exposed to the media, the key is an increase in interest in "balanced nutritional food.

 

"Instead of stimulating seasoning, the hot stone pot rice is characterized by maximizing the unique taste and nutrients of the ingredients.

An official from CJ CheilJedang said, "If you look at the 'protein and vegetable HMR trends' after the coronavirus infection (COVID-19), you can see that consumer needs for a balanced nutritional diet have expanded.

"The characteristics of hot pot rice, which are different from general Korean food, also affected.

 

Unlike hot stone pots, soups, and stews, pot rice, which consists of "one-person table setting," was an advantage at a time when personal hygiene was important after the pandemic, and served as an attractive feature for "eating alone" or single-person households.

 

In addition, it fits well with the taste of the MZ generation, which prefers "differentiated premium" dishes and "various toppings."

At the same time, it is a high-end dish with nutrients, and colorful toppings are perfect for social networking services (SNS) photos that you can enjoy with your eyes first.

 

 

 

 

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"The smell of freshly cooked rice..."the warmth of the hot stone pot rice

 

 

[123RF]

 

 

 

 

Above all, hot stone pot rice provides us with "familiar comfort" with the stability of warm rice.

As soon as you open the lid of the hot stone pot rice, a pleasant smell of rice begins to come out.

After savoring the savory smell of rice, after enjoying the chewy texture in earnest, the scorched rice time awaits like a bonus at the end.

 

Hot stone pot rice is a food that reminds your mother of carefully cooked rice and even nurungji(누룽지) in her memories.

An official from the food industry said, "The trend of rice in a pot also seems to reflect the desire to find peace as a food familiar to difficult times," adding, "The word 'Koreans are rice' comes to mind, so hot stone pot rice is focused on the taste of freshly cooked rice."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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