Banchan

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

Banchan (Hangul: 반찬; hanja: 飯饌; English pronunciation: /ˈbɑːntʃɑːn/; 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 word Banchan translated into English means side dish.

The basic table setting for a meal called 'bansang' (반상) usually consists of bap (밥, cooked rice), guk or tang (soup), gochujang or ganjang, jjigae, and kimchi. According to the number of banchan added, the table setting is called 3 cheop (삼첩), 5 cheop (오첩), 7 cheop (칠첩), 9 cheop (구첩), 12 cheop (십이첩) bansang, with the 12 cheop used in Korean royal cuisine.

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 a shared pot of jjigae. Bowls of cooked rice and guk (soup) are set individually. Banchan are served in small portions, meant to be finished at each meal and are replenished during the meal if not enough. Usually, the more formal the meals are, the more banchan there will be. Jeolla province is particularly famous for serving many different varieties of banchan in a single meal.

Varieties

Kimchi

Main article: Kimchi

Dongchimi (동치미)

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 scallions, gat (갓), and radish (무; mu).

Name	Korean name	Description
Nabak kimchi	나박김치	Watery kimchi with less spicy baechu and mu
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. Usually made with baechu and lettuce.
Kkakdugi	깍두기	A kimchi made with cubed mu (white radish)
Oi sobagi	오이 소박이	Stuffed cucumbers kimchi, stuffed with chili, spring onions and buchu
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 jeotgal.
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 are added to reduce the hot and bitter taste.

Namul

Main article: namul

Various 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	Long julienned 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.
Dolnamul	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

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

• Kimchi bokkeum (김치볶음) - Stir-fried kimchi, often with pork (similar to jeyook bokkeum).
• Jeyook bokkeum (제육볶음) - Stir-fried pork with gochujang (chili pepper paste) sauce and onions.
• Ojingeochae bokkeum (오징어채볶음) — Stir-fried dried shredded squid seasoned with a mixture of gochujang (chili pepper paste), garlic, and mulyeot (syrup-like condiment).
• Nakji bokkeum (낙지볶음) - Stir-fried baby octopus in spicy gochujang sauce.
• Buseot bokkeum (버섯볶음) - Stir-fried mushrooms such as pyogo, oyster mushrooms, pine mushrooms.

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) — Mixed and seasoned eggs steamed in a hot pot.
• Saengseon jjim (생선찜)- Steamed fish.

Jeon

Jeon denotes a variety of pan-fried, pancake-like dishes. Buchimgae is a near synonym.

• Pajeon (파전) — Thin pancakes with scallions.
• 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, 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 glass noodles accompanied with a variety of vegetables and beef in a slightly-sweet garlic sauce.
• Korean-style potato salad (감자 샐러드) with apples and carrots.

Gallery

• 

  Table setting in Jeolla province with many banchan

• 

  Ojingeochae bokkeum (오징어채볶음)

• 

  Yeongeun jorim (연근조림)

• 

  Gyeran jjim (계란찜) in a hot pot

• 

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

• 

  Japchae

See also

• Finger food
• Hors d'oeuvre
• Korean cuisine
• Meze, a selection of small dishes in the Eastern Mediterranean
• Tapas, a wide variety of appetizers in Spanish cuisine
• Thali, a similar concept in Indian cuisine

External links

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