Korean dishes: banchan ("little dishes") – an intro: Kimchi = Korean

kimchi kimchi kimchi

kimchi kimchi kimchi

After a weekend of Korean BBQ at the Yelp! KBBQ Event , I’m inspired to go back to my roots of Korean food!    Banchan basically translates to “little dishes” that Koreans eat with rice.  It’s sorta like Korean version of Spanish tapas or Japanese Izakaya except that most of these little dishes ususally come automatically with your meal when you order your main dish in a Korean restaurant.  Kimchi is a fundamental must-have among the banchans.  We picked up a fresh, non-MSG-ridden kimchi from a wonderful hole-in-the-wall place on Olympic called Kae Sung Market (kinda sorta a market but known for wall-to-wall fridge of all kinds and sizes of kimchi). I had to plug it on Yelp (and hope only a few people reads this because it’s a small gem with the best kimchi in K-town) and you can see that i’m the FIRST to review this wonderful place.  The lady who runs the place has been making kimchi since 1973 and I don’t think their recipes have changed much since.  And i wouldn’t change a thing…except for maybe try an organic version??? 

For those of you who may not know what Kimchi is or need a refresher course…  Just remember Koreans = Kimchi.  That is – Koreans are very proud of their kimchi and associate being Korean with consuming kimchi.  The saying goes, “you are not Korean if you don’t eat kimchi” and they mean it.  If you want to impress a Korean, especially with language barrier, chomp up on kimchi and tell them how much you love it.  They’ll give you instant credibility and look at you in awe.   It’s definitely an acquired taste, definitely not for romantic first dates, but hey – as long as both of you eat it – I’m sure you won’t notice.  It seems to trending more and more popular tho – even seeing it at Farmers Markets and Whole Foods and seeing all the non-korean folks post it on their blogs.  At the KBBQ event, I had a Caucasian guy look over at my plate and asked, “hey – is the kimchi any good?” to which I replied squinting, “nah~  it’s really not” and to which he asked if he could try it and the verdict was…”nah~ it’s really not good, huh?” which just goes to show you that he knows his kimchi – impressed.  Someone taught him right:)

So – a quick crash course.  Kimchi is a traditional Korean pickled vegetables and there’s many many varieties of kimchi; different regions, different spices/colors, and different vegetables.  Like many other old traditional ways of preserving food in those days where they didn’t have a fridge, those smart Koreans from eons ago came up with the idea of pickling/fermenting vegetables, storing them in huge ceramic jugs and burying them deep in the soil (during winter times where the ground tends to be very cold thus preserving it well) and to be enjoyed all year around.  Not only is kimchi a way to sneak in veggies full with flavor explosions, but they have a lot of health benefits as well.  Some of these are proven and some are just claims and some old wives tales (or at least from my mom, grandma, you get the picture…) in no particular order.

– High in fiber, low in calories

– Full of carotenoids and Vitamin C (from the red peppers)

– Eases digestion and improves intestinal health (My mom says it’s like the good bacteria that’s in yogurt.  Because kimchi goes thru a massive fermentation process, it’s chokeful of good bacteria just like in yogurt but in mass doses).  Don’t overdue though as a lot of kimchi can be pretty spicy and may give you heartburn

– Spicy, salty, tangy, and sometimes sweet – it’s the ultimate dish that can whet your appetite.

– Versatile:  Man!  Koreans have come up with tens and thousands of ways to eat kimchi.  Once mine’s fully fermented, I’ll start sharing some of these recipes.  The ones that come to my head now are:

1) Kimchi tofu soup

2) Kimchi vermicelli noodles

3) Kimchi pancakes

4) Sesame-marinated kimchi salad

5) Korean sushi with kimchi

6) Lettuce wraps with kimchi

and more…

About chefkelly

Leveraging a lifelong passion for food and combining a unique cultural mesh of korean cuisine, robust flavors of Texas BBQ and California cuisine, Chef Kelly brings her own signature style to delectable perfect bites exploring complex and often surprising interplay of flavors, textures and colors. She has honed and shared her craft through her experiences from five star restaurant kitchens to private cooking instruction to her self-written food blog at chefkelly.com all made with 2 tablespoons of love; love for food, love for life.
This entry was posted in All things foodie related, becoming a chef, Chef Kelly. Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Korean dishes: banchan ("little dishes") – an intro: Kimchi = Korean

  1. Great blog, Kelly! Really, really love. You are an amazing chef! And I can’t wait to see you go when the new kitchen is complete (weeeeee!).

    Your new fan,
    Joselle
    🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *