By Bernard Rowan
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Banchan deserves an entire chapter in any Korean cookbook or encyclopedia of Korean cuisine. Some come in the form of cooked, seasoned, pickled or decorated vegetables and roots. Others arise from delicious cooked and seasoned seafood. Varied types of kimchi appear as side dishes. Still others feature peanuts, lotus root, eggs, tofu, or sweet potato noodles with vegetables and meat. Don't be finicky! Expand your palate's experience and enjoy some distinct and delicious tastes with Korean side dishes.
I like side dishes made from treated stems sprouts and roots: bellflower, ferns, aster, burdock, watercress, mung bean, spinach or bean sprouts are some examples. Often the texture makes the side dish as appealing as the taste. I enjoy stuffed cucumbers (oi sobagi), napa cabbage (baechu kimchi), cubed radish (kkakdugi), and spicy cucumbers (oi kimchi). Steamed and seasoned eggplant (gaji namul), soy sauce potatoes (gamja jorim) and pickled garlic (manul changachi) taste good. Steamed tofu with chili (soondubu yangnum), fried and seasoned tofu with green onions (dubu buchim) and mildly simmered tofu (dubu jorim) are wonderful. So is dubu gyeran jjim, tofu and egg pudding.
I'm not fond of kimchi made from mint (perilla) leaves (kkaenip jjim). I have trouble working mung bean jelly (cheonpomuk) with my poor chopstick skills. It's a bland dish but cooling. Seaweed is a cultivated taste. It's served as a side dish or ingredient of salad (miyeok muchim), or dried, seasoned sheets (kim), or raw.
For heartier accompaniments, try beef in soy (jangjorim). Skewers of vegetables with meats (sanjeok) are wonderful. Also, enjoy dried squid in sauce (ojingeochae muchim or bokkeum) and dried anchovies (myeolchi bokkeum). Try fish cake (eomuk bokkeum) and Korean pancakes (jeon) with vegetables and seafood. I'm fond of japchae or Korean stir-fried glass noodles. Other sides include fried fish and shrimp (saengsun and saewoo) and lightly fried fish (bugeo gui). As with many side dishes, there's enough versatility to convert them into a main dish, for a lighter meal or snack eaten during a break.
Some of the main sauces and spices featured in Korean banchan are delicious sesame oil, chili flakes, doenjang (bean paste), and red pepper paste (gochujang).
Some of the best websites to view and learn more about Korean cuisine through English are the "Side Dish Archives" at Korean Bapsang (www.koreanbapsang.com) and Crazy Korean Cooking's "Side Dish" pages (www.crazykoreancooking.com). Many others showcase Korean side dishes too.
From this brief introduction, one can see the variety of side dishes as an easy way to reference a Korean meal. Regional, village, and family specialties vary and add further ingredients, style, and tastes. Buddhism influences the Korean table. Rice comes at the meal's end. Side dishes belong to eating rice.
A fancy way to eat banchan is as a meal. This elaborate service is hanjeongsik damyang or "table d'hote". I've enjoyed this once or twice. The best place to enjoy is at a countryside retreat or a rural restaurant.
When I was young, there were four children. We'd share a chicken with western side dishes and couldn't exactly "pig out" at the table. Imagine my liberation with Korean side dishes! Of course, Korean dining centers on politeness. Yet there were so many side dishes, and for each person! It was heaven! And it remains so whenever I find a restaurant that features banchan. Enjoy the paradise of Korean eating. Korean side dishes are a wonderful way to experience Korea's bounty, variety, and delicious, healthy eating.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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