Side dishes Recipes

Prep 10min Cook 20min 2 servings

Korean Braised Tofu with Shishito Peppers

Tofu and shishito peppers carry this meatless braise, and the salty, mildly spicy sauce that remains is meant to be mixed into rice. The tofu is basted with a spoon rather than flipped, so the slices stay neat and square to the end. Onion cut on the thick side keeps its shape through the braise and adds a bit of bite. Patting the tofu dry one more time just before it hits the pan cuts down on spattering oil.

Kimchi Easy

Korean Pickled Shishito Peppers

Tiny holes poked with a toothpick let the soy brine into each hollow shishito pepper, and the blanch stops as soon as the skins begin to slump, because fully limp peppers lose their bite. Once the hot brine is poured over, the peppers are split into shallow containers and head straight into the fridge, making this a chilled side dish rather than a pantry preserve.

Prep 1460min Cook 12min 4 servings

Jayeom Seasoned Bean Sprouts

The sprouts get no chili and no soy sauce; jayeom does the seasoning. This traditionally made salt has more savory depth than refined salt. It goes on before the other seasonings so it can reach the thick stems.

Prep 5min Cook 5min 2 servings

Stir-fry Medium

Korean Butter Soy Stir-fried Dried Squid

Dried shredded squid (jinmichae) is usually done in gochujang; this version uses butter and soy sauce, so it comes out rich and sweet-salty. There is only a pinch of chili flakes, so it is not spicy.

Prep 10min Cook 8min 4 servings

Prep 12min Cook 7min 4 servings

Korean Steamed Shishito Pepper Banchan

Instead of being stir-fried, shishito-style peppers are dusted with a thin layer of flour and steamed, which keeps their mild sweetness and soft bite. During steaming the white coating turns translucent, forming a thin film that the dressing of soy sauce, gochugaru, garlic and sesame oil clings to.

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes

Kimchi Easy

Korean Kohlrabi Soy Pickle

The kohlrabi is pickled raw, without blanching, in soy brine that has simmered 2 more minutes with garlic and dried chiles and then cooled. Every fibrous layer under the skin comes off during peeling, since those fibers stay tough in the pickle, and from the third day a few cubes are served alongside meat.

Prep 4340min Cook 12min 4 servings

Korean Seasoned Dried Squid Strips

A tablespoon of mayonnaise goes into the gochujang dressing. Its oil coats the dry squid strips, letting the dressing cling softly and making the squid less tough to chew. The finished dish is nearly dry, and in a lunchbox the sauce stays put instead of creeping into the next compartment.

Prep 10min Cook 2min 4 servings

Korean Sweet Spicy Stir-fried Filefish Jerky

Dried filefish jerky is tough and dry straight from the bag; a glaze of gochujang, soy sauce and oligosaccharide syrup softens it until the pieces bend instead of snapping. Kept in the fridge, it holds for five to seven days.

Prep 8min Cook 7min 4 servings

Steamed Medium

Kodari Jorim (Korean Braised Pollack)

Dried only partway in the sea wind on Korea's east coast, kodari pollock keeps some moisture in its flesh. Braised, it turns chewy without the dry, fibrous texture of fully dried hwangtae or bugeo. Radish under the fish keeps it off the hot pot bottom while a spicy-sweet sauce of gochujang, gochugaru, soy sauce and sugar cooks into it over about half an hour. It tastes even better after a night in the fridge, and leftover sauce makes a good bibimbap seasoning.

Prep 25min Cook 35min 4 servings

Kimchi Easy

Korean Kohlrabi Kimchi (Cubed Gochugaru Fermented Crisp)

Denser and drier than Korean radish, kohlrabi cubes hold their crunch even as the kimchi ferments. Eaten right away it tastes light and fresh, almost like a salad; after three to four days in the fridge the fish sauce comes forward and it turns properly savory. It can take the place of kkakdugi, the cubed radish kimchi, or sit beside meat dishes. Twenty minutes of salting is enough once the surface tastes seasoned, with no need to wait for the cubes to bend.

Prep 30min 0 4 servings

Side dishes Hard

Jogi Jeotgal

Whole yellow croaker spends two days buried in sea salt in the fridge, then gets a coat of garlic, ginger, chili flakes and cheongju (clear rice wine) and goes back to the fridge for 5 to 7 days. Unlike jeotgal left to ferment at room temperature for a long time, every stage here happens in the fridge. The seasoning has to reach inside the belly as well as the skin, otherwise the flesh near the bone stays plain. Small pieces go with plain rice or into kimchi jjigae.

🏠 Everyday

Prep 35min 0 4 servings

Korean Stir-Fried Bamboo Shoots

Fresh bamboo shoots are only around for a short season in spring, so most of the year this banchan is made with canned or vacuum-packed shoots. Fresh ones need at least 30 minutes of simmering in rice-rinsing water to remove their acrid bite; canned ones need a thorough rinse to lose their tinny smell. Soy sauce and garlic keep the seasoning light, and the point is crunch: cooked too long, the shoots dry out and toughen.

Prep 12min Cook 8min 4 servings

Prep 480min Cook 40min 6 servings

Korean Soy-Braised Soybeans

Each bean ends up with a clear, glossy shell of soy and sugar syrup, salty first and then nutty as you bite through. Known in Korea as kongjorim or kongjaban, it works with black seoritae beans or yellow soybeans. The beans are soaked and boiled until soft before they ever meet the sauce. That keeps the braising short while the seasoning still reaches the center. Kept in a sealed container in the fridge, it is a classic make-ahead banchan for rice bowls and lunch boxes.

🍱 Lunchbox

Kimchi Medium

Korean Soybean Leaf Kimchi

Soybean leaves start out earthy and grassy, and as they sit in soy sauce and anchovy fish sauce the raw green smell fades into a salty, fermented savoriness. Tender leaves picked before the first frost are laid over a spoonful of rice and eaten as a wrap, and a light toss with sesame oil softens any that taste too salty.

Prep 35min Cook 5min 4 servings

Korean Braised Perilla Leaves

Each braised perilla leaf is peeled off the stack and wrapped around a bite of rice. The leaves are stacked five or six at a time with sauce spooned between the layers and braised gently, so every leaf, wilted and soft, is seasoned evenly.

Prep 10min Cook 10min 4 servings

Korean Stir-Fried Kimchi (Caramelized Aged Kimchi Banchan)

When kimchi has gone too sour, this is the first thing many Korean households think of making. The kimchi is cut without squeezing out its juices and fried with onion over medium heat until the liquid in the pan cooks down and clings to the leaves. Besides rice, it often goes on top of ramyeon.

Prep 8min Cook 10min 4 servings

Steamed Seasoned Soybean Leaves

Tender raw soybean leaves are stacked two or three at a time with a thin spread of soy and chili seasoning between them, steamed briefly, then peeled off one by one to wrap around a bite of rice. Steaming softens the coarse veins, and green plum syrup rounds off the saltiness of the soy so the grassy taste of the leaves still comes through behind the garlic and chili. It works warm or cooled as a side dish; the seasoning stays put between the layers.

Prep 15min Cook 5min 2 servings

Kimchi Medium

Soybean Leaf Water Kimchi

Raw soybean leaves go straight into the brine, neither salted nor blanched, and their green, beany aroma comes through intact. Pear, garlic and ginger are blended and strained through cloth so that only the juice is used. Without that step, pulp ends up floating in the liquid and stuck between the leaves.

Prep 20min Cook 10min 4 servings

Korean Seasoned Perilla Leaf Banchan

Raw perilla leaves keep their rough texture and sharp green aroma here, because the soy and chili seasoning is brushed on with no cooking at all. The braised version is soft and mellow; this one is brisk and herbal. Spread the seasoning as a thin film on each leaf, since a heavy hand makes the stack salty fast. Next to grilled pork belly or rice wraps, it tempers the porky smell of the meat.

Prep 8min 0 4 servings

Korean Perilla Leaf Tofu Stir-fry

Perilla leaves plus ground perilla seed give soy-glazed tofu a double dose of that nutty, minty perilla smell. The tofu is seared firm beforehand, so the pieces keep their edges.