[Sca-cooks] New toy!

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Olwen the Odd:
>>Also sprach Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius:
>>>I think it's called a bulgogi (the same as the name of a dish 
>>>frequently cooked thereon). There's also a Japanese name, but I 
>>>forget what it is. I did a Web search and there's not a lot of 
>>>info (that I could find), and I went down the wrong blind alley 
>>>which led to the whole sin sullo / shabu-shabu / Mongolian hotpot 
>>>thing. This is also intended as a similar kind of communal 
>>>table-top cooking utensil, I believe; it just does dry cooking 
>>>rather than simmering your thinly-sliced ingredients.
>>
>>I've found a link to a webbed .jpg of a bulgogi in action. This one 
>>is pretty small, and covered with food, and set into a special 
>>table with the heat source built in, but you may still recognize 
>>it...
>>
>>http://laura.0catch.com/korea/bulgogi.JPG
>>
>>A.
>
>No.  I have seen these metal cooking surfaces built into the center 
>of the tables.  What I have is ceramic.
>Olwen

No doubt. But I think there's a distinct possibility that the name 
may be the same, and that if you go to buy one (I'll try to see if 
the Korean markets in my neighborhood have any such thing; these are 
actual markets for Korean communities, rather than what used to be 
called a Korean Deli or market, which was just a store that happened 
to be run by Koreans) they'll trundle out 27 different types of 
bulgogi, just as another store might, if you ask for a grill, trundle 
out 27 different models. But of the 27 models, maybe one or two of 
them will be earthenware instead of metal.

The beast in question is maybe 15 inches across, round, and slightly 
domed, with either ridges and/or raised slits in the surface, and 
maybe a small chimney hole in the center? And a drainage well for 
liquids?

I suspect that, if you buy the concept of "form follows function", 
these utensils are, practically, identical, possibly having evolved 
from ceramic to cast iron to steel, just as many other pots and pans 
have over the centuries.

Ultimately, though, if you find it, it should be quite easy to get 
the proper name. Question: when you say "ceramic", do you mean 
earthenware/clay, or something like non-stick Silverstone? I could 
see this going either way.

A.