Better the second day

Everyone in my family loves Chinese food… except for me. It’s food, it’s okay, but I always just kind of went with the flow until a few years ago.

That’s when we bought our bibimbap bowls. These are carved from a solid piece of soapstone. Soapstone is wonderful, because it absorbs a temperature and hangs on to it. I have a huge slab I’ve even frozen before and used as a serving board for shrimp cocktail.

Last night our date night was to P. F. Changs. We made sure to order extra in anticipation of tonight. It really doesn’t matter what dishes you order, they all get the same treatment.

First stick your stone bowls into the oven and bring them up to 500 degrees. Think of them like a battery, they’re going to take on heat and hold it for hours. (Dinner won’t take hours, but it forces me to wait before washing them up.)

Add a generous splash of sesame oil to the bottom of your bowl. The first layer is leftover rice. Any kind works, but I recommend leftover fried rice. The kind they add everything but the kitchen sink to.

I like to stir mine around to get a good sizzle going. We shared the fried rice leftovers, and added a bit more of the white rice that nobody ever seems to eat with dinner.

Then we passed around the takeout cartons. Anything left is fair game here. Hopefully, there is a bit of some protein left, but it isn’t completely necessary.

Crack an egg, and place it raw over the top. Add a generous scoop of Asian chili paste, then put the lid back on. Old What’s Her Face saved me a spoonful of broth from her won ton soup. Makes a nice steam for my egg.

Give it a minute or so.

In my case, I like to place everything nice and neat, but that ends at suppertime. When you’re ready, place the lid aside, break the egg, and stir it all up. Add soy if you like.

This time we had noodles, sweet and sour, some choice beef bits. Other times there has been broccoli, shrimp, pork, it honestly doesn’t matter.

This is Chinese food I love. I’m sure it works with Japanese or Korean food too, but I haven’t gone that far. A few gyosa, maybe a couple of those tiny pork ribs, I’m sure it’s all great.

The bell peppers and chunks of onion will get lava hot, so blow on them.

Ahhhh!

Maybe I’ll clean up the bowls in a couple of hours after they cool.