Crush and heat

On a recent trip to Mexico, I encountered an interesting item on the menu: molcajete. I found this curious, as a molcajete is the traditional mortar and pestle instrument for crushing in the Mexican kitchen, and not necessarily the name of the dish. Certainly, guacamole is traditionally prepared in a molcajete, so perhaps, like casserole, molcajete refers to both the dish and the serving dish at once.





What arrived explained it all: the molcajete bowl in this case, made from volcanic rock, is heated, and food put into it continue to cook when it arrives at the table. The heat retention of rock is quite impressive, remaining screamingly hot for about an hour.

I envision here a new Korean-Mexican hybrid, beyond the Kogi Korean beef tacos. Bibimbap meets molcajete, replacing the traditional dolsot. And perhaps amplifying the flavors with Mexican salsas in place of the gojuchang.