Banchan

Banchan
Various banchan served at a table
Korean name
Hangul	반찬
Hanja	飯饌
Revised Romanization	banchan
McCune–Reischauer	panch'an

Banchan (also spelled panch'an) refers to small dishes of food 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 secondary main course, such as galbi or bulgogi, and sometimes a shared pot of stew. While the main course of the meal is sticky rice. Bowls 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. Usually, more formal meals have more banchan. The Jeolla province is famous for serving many more kinds of banchan in a single meal.

Different kinds of banchan

Kimchi

Main article: Kimchi

Kimchi is fermented vegetables, usually baechu (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. Kimchi can be made with other vegetables as well, including spring onions, Brassica juncea (gat, 갓), and radishes (mu, 무).

Name	Korean name	Description
Nabak kimchi	나박김치	firmer and less spicy baechu and mu floating in pink watery brine
Dongchimi	동치미	various vegetables in white brine. Nabak kimchi and dongchimi are referred to as mul kimchi (물김치), literally "water kimchi."
Geotjeori	겉절이	freshly made kimchi to be eaten crisp without fermenting. Often made with baechu.
Ggakdugi	깍두기	mu cut into cubes and seasoned with red chili peppers
Oi sobagi	오이 소박이	cucumbers stuffed with chili and spring onions
Chonggak kimchi	총각김치	whole mu with chili pepper seasoning. It is made with dallangmu, about the same size as sausages.
Yeolmu kimchi	열무김치	thin and small young summer radish kimchi, which can be prepared either with or without fermented fish sauce.
Pa kimchi	파김치	hot and salty scallion kimchi, seasoned with lots of myeolchijeot, the Korean version of salted anchovies.
Gat kimchi	갓김치	Indian mustard leaf kimchi with a large amount of red pepper powder and the unique bitter taste and aroma. Strong myeolchijeot and glutinous rice paste can reduce hot and bitter taste.

Namul

Namul (나물) refers to steamed, marinated, or stir-fried vegetables usually seasoned with sesame oil, salt, vinegar, minced garlic, chopped green onions, dried chili peppers, and soy sauce.

Name	Korean name	Description
Kongnamul	콩나물	Cold boiled bean sprouts with sesame oil.
Sigeumchi namul	시금치나물	Lightly parboiled spinach dressed with sesame oil, garlic, and soy sauce.
Miyeok muchim	미역무침	Miyeok (wakame, a seaweed) with sweet vinegar and salt.
Musaengchae/Muchae	무생채/무채	"Noodles" of white radish in a sweet vinegar sauce, sometimes with ground dried chili peppers.
Gosari namul	고사리나물	Prepared fern shoots that have been stir-fried.
Chwinamul	취나물	Stir-fried and seasoned Aster scaber.
Bireum namul	비름나물	Parboiled and seasoned amaranthus.
Naengi namul	냉이나물	Parboiled and seasoned shepherd's purse.
Dollamul	돌나물	Raw Sedum with pepper sauce dressing.
Gogumasun namul	고구마순나물	Boiled/seasoned sweet potato shoots.
Gaji namul	가지나물	Boiled eggplant.
Doraji namul	도라지나물	Boiled Chinese bellflower roots.

Bokkeum

ojingeochae bokkeum

Bokkeum (볶음) is a dish stir-fried with a sauce

• Ojingeochae bokkeum (오징어채볶음) — made by stir-frying dried shredded squid seasoned with a mixture of gochujang (chili pepper paste), garlics, and mulyeot (syrup-like condiment). It is eaten as anju (food to eat while drinking), and as banchan.
• Jeyook bokkeum (제육볶음) - stir-fried pork with gochujang (chili pepper paste) sauce and onions.
• Kimchi bokkeum (김치볶음) - stir-fried kimchi, often with pork (similar to Jeyook bokkeum)

Jorim

Jorim is a dish simmered in a seasoned broth.

• Dubu-jorim (두부조림) — tofu simmered in diluted soy sauce, a little bit of sesame oil, minced garlic, and chopped green onion.
• Jang-jorim (장조림) — beef simmered in soy sauce, optionally with hard-boiled eggs or hard-boiled quail eggs

Jjim

Jjim is a steamed dish.

• Gyeran-jjim (계란찜) — eggs that have been cracked, mixed, seasoned, and steamed in a container, eaten with a spoon

Jeon

Samsaek jeon (삼색전), any three different jeon are referred to as such.

Jeon denotes a variety of pan-fried dishes. Buchimgae is a near synonym. In Japan, buchimgae is called chijimi (チヂミ), after the Gyeongsang dialect word for buchimgae, jijimi.

• Pajeon (파전) — thin pancakes with green onion. Can also be made with just eggs and green onions.
• Kimchijeon (김치전) — thin pancakes with old (ripe) Kimchi.
• Gamjajeon (감자전) — Korean-style potato pancakes
• Saengseon jeon (생선전) — small portions of fish coated with eggs and pan-fried
• Donggeurang ttaeng (동그랑땡) — patty made with tofu and meat and vegetables, coated with eggs and pan-fried

Others

• Japchae (잡채) — A stand-alone dish in its own right, japchae can also be eaten as banchan. Japchae is translucent starch noodles accompanied with a variety of vegetable and beef in a slightly-sweet garlic sauce.

• Korean-style potato salad (감자 샐러드) with apples and carrots

See also

• Korean cuisine
• Finger food
• Okazu
• Meze, a selection of small dishes in the Eastern Mediterranean
• Tapas, a wide variety of appetizers in Spanish cuisine

External links

• Introduction to Korean Food
• About Korean Cuisine
• The characteristics of Korean food