Banchan

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The various banchan

Banchan (hangul:반찬; hanja: 飯饌, also spelled panchan), refers to small side-dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. This word is used both in the singular and plural. The most famous banchan is kimchi.

Banchan are set in the middle of the table to be shared. At the center of the table is the main course, such as kalbi or bulgogi, and sometimes shared a pot of stew. A bowl of cooked rice and soup are set individually. Banchan are served in small portions, meant to be finished at each meal. They can be replenished during the meal as they are finished. More formal meals have more banchan.

[edit] Varieties

Kimchi is fermented vegetables, usually napa cabbage, seasoned with chili peppers and salt. This is the essential banchan of a standard Korean meal. Some Koreans do not consider a meal complete without kimchi.
- Mul kimchi (물김치) - the same cabbage, but firmer and less spicy and floating in pink water
- Kkakdugi (깍두기) - blocks of radish in the red chile paste.
- Oi kimchi (오이 소박이) - cucumbers that have been pickled in the same spicy chili paste.

Namul (나물) is steamed or marinated vegetables usually seasoned with some of these following ingredients such as sesame oil, salt, vinegar, minced garlic, chopped green onions, dried chilli peppers, and soy sauce.
- Kongnamul (콩나물) - cold bean sprouts with sesame oil.
- Sikumchi-namul (시금치나물) - slightly boiled spinach dressed with sesame oil, garlic, and soy sauce
- Miyuk-muchim (미역무침) - seaweed with sweet vinegar and salt.
- Musaeng-chae (무생채) - "noodles" of white radish in a sweet vinegar sauce, sometimes with ground dried chilli peppers.

Jjim and jorim - simmered meat or fish
- Dubussim (두부찜) - steamed tofu spread with mainly soy sauce, a little bit of sesame oil, minced garlic, and chopped green onion.