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Home Side Dishes

15 Korean Vegetable Side Dishes (Banchan)

vg
Posted:7/20/20185 Comments

Korean vegetable side dishes (banchan) to go with any meals. Simple and easy to make, these dishes are light and nutritious and are especially great with BBQ for a balance of flavors and texture. 

Collage image of 4 different Korean vegetable side dishes
15 korean vegetable side dishes or banchan

15 of the most popular Korean vegetable side dishes (also known as “banchan”) that you can effortlessly make at home for the whole family to enjoy. You don’t have to wait for your next trip to a Korean restaurant to have the various kinds of banchan because they are really quite easy to make.

With just a few simple ingredients, you can whip up a whole lot of authentic Korean flavors in your very own kitchen. And most of these will store well in the fridge for few days so you can continue to make meals with them. That’s how many Korean moms do it. They make a batch of the side dishes and take out a couple for every meal.

What is Banchan ?

Banchan (반찬飯饌) is a name for all the small side dishes that are typically served with rice in a Korean meal. They are usually served in small dishes (but not always) and is supposed to be shared with everyone at the table. Banchan can be the vegetable side dishes listed here but also includes seafood and meats that are made into jeon (e.g. fish jeon) or jorim (braised e.g. jangjorim).

How to store Korean Vegetable Side Dishes? And how long?

Well, instead of going over each one, I made a quick table for you here! So refer to this table whenever you are not sure. BTW, USDA states the following  – “Never leave food out of refrigeration over 2 hours. If the temperature is above 90 °F, food should not be left out more than 1 hour.”

My recommended times are based on cooler room temperatures of 75°F or lower so please shorten the time if the temperature is higher. I think because some of these Korean vegetable side dishes are high in acid/salt/sugar content, they are most likely going to be OK but please put in the refrigerator sooner than later.

DISCLAIMER – I’m giving you this info just as a very rough guideline and is purely based on my personal experience of cooking Korean food for over 25 years. I am NOT a food safety expert and the results may differ on the temperature, humidity and other factors that I cannot cover all here.

Most of these Korean vegetable side dishes taste best when they are freshly made and served at room temperature. Cucumber Salad and Radish Salad are two salads that actually taste better cold and after they have been marinated for a few hours.

Korean Vegetable Side DishesStore at Cool Room Temp (< 23ºC/ 75ºF)Refrigerate for 1 dayRefrigerate for 2-3 Days
Cucumber Salad3-4 hrsGreatGood
Lettuce Salad< 2 hrsOK - prob. soggyNot Good
Green Onion Salad< 2 hrsNot GoodNot Good
Chive Salad4-5 hrsGoodOK
Bean Sprout Salad< 1 hrsGoodOk - may spoil
Three Color Namul 2-3 hrsGoodGood
Tofu Muchim< 2 hrsGoodOk - may spoil
Lotus Roots4-5 hrsGoodGood up to 6-7 days
Eggplant Namul<2 hrsGoodOk - may spoil
Fried Kelp3 ~ 7 days (no humidity)Don't Do itDon't Do it
Potato Jorim3-4 hrsOKOK
Sauteed Burdock2-3 hrsGoodDef. good up to 6-7 days or more
Sweet and Salty Black Beans1 dayGoodGood, up to 7 days or more
Radish Salad5-6 hrsGoodGood
Kabocha Salad< 2 hrsGoodOK
Here is a rough guideline about how long you can keep your Korean vegetable side dishes at room temperature and in the fridge.

Hope this is helpful! This Banchan storage guide table does not display well on mobile, click HERE to view, download or print the table.

#1 Korean Vegetable Side Dish – Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim 오이무침)

Korean cucumber salad in a white bowl
Korean cucumber salad or Oi Muchim

A simple Korean cucumber side dish that’s like a salad. The seasoning is very light to allow the refreshing cucumber flavor to stand out.

Lettuce Salad (Sangchoo Geotjeori 상추 겉절이)

Korean Vegetable Side Dish side view of Korean lettuce salad in green bowl
Korean Lettuce Salad (Sangchoo Geotjeori)

A wonderful side dish to any grilled meats. The salty, vinegary, and slightly sweet chili flavors of this banchan help balance the greasy taste of meats.

Green Onion Salad (Pa Muchim 파무침) 

Side view of green onion salad with chopsticks in background
Korean Green Onion Salad

Another side dish that’s great with grilled meats. It brings out the flavor of meat while cutting out the fatty taste.

Chive Salad (Buchu Muchim 부추 무침)

Chive Salad with chive flowers in grey bowl
Chive Salad – Korean Buchu Muchim

The tantalizing soy vinegar dressing together with the garlicky punch of fresh chives make this side dish a standout. Serve it with Korean BBQ or any heavy meat dishes.

Bean Sprouts (Sukju Namul 숙주나물)

Bean sprouts side dish in black bowl topped with green onions
Korean Bean Sprouts Recipe – Sukju Namul (숙주나물)

This popular Korean side dish is easy to make with humble ingredients yet packed with nutrients and good flavors. It’s a great topping for bibimbap.

Three Color Vegetables (Samsaek Namul 삼색나물)

Plate of 3 different colors of vegetables - white, brown and green
Korean Samsaek Namul or Three color vegetables (White, Brown, Green)

This dish comes from the Korean tradition of paying respect to ancestors with an offering of a table full of food. One of the rules is to have a plate of three-colored vegetables.

 Tofu with Crown Daisies (Ssukgat Dubu Muchim 쑥갓 두부 무침) 

Tofu crumbles and cut crown daisies muchim in white bowl
Simple Tofu Recipe – Crown Daisy ssukgat dubu muchim

Tofu is mixed with fragrant Korean greens like ssukgat (crown daisies), minari (water dropwort/Japanese parsley/Chinese celery), and cham namul in this traditional recipe.

Sweet and Salty Lotus Roots (Yeonkeun Jorim 연근조림)

sweet and salty glazed lotus roots with sesame seeds garnish
Sweet and salty braised lotus roots

A popular Korean side dish that’s slightly crunchy, salty, and sweet all at the same time. Lotus roots are a great source of fiber and vitamin C.

Steamed Eggplant (Gaji Namul 가지나물)

Steamed purple eggplant side dish in white bowl - side view
Eggplant namul (가지나물 Gahji Namul)

Eggplant is lightly steamed and gently tossed in a delicious Korean soy sauce seasoning. This side dish is just as good by itself and with some white rice for a light meal.

Fried Kelp Chips (Dashima Twigak 다시마 튀각)

top view of Fried Kelp chips sprinkled with sugar on stainless cookie pan
Fried Kelp Chips Recipe (Dasima Twigak)

Great as a side dish or a snack, kelp chips are a traditional delicacy that has been around for hundreds of years. Kelp is rich in minerals.

Potato Side Dish (Gamja Jorim 감자조림)

Soy sauce glazed shiny baby potatoes in a bowl on green paper background
Korean Gamja Jorim or potato side dish in reduced soy sauce

An easy side dish for potato lovers that goes well with any Korean meal and lunch boxes. It can be made with any waxy potatoes or baby potatoes.

Sauteed Burdock (Wuwong Bokkeum 우엉볶음)

julienned burdock braised in soys sauce on blue plate
Sauteed Burdock (Woowong Bokkeum우엉볶음)

A popular root vegetable in Korea and Japan, burdock is enjoyed for its medicinal benefits. Fresh burdock root can usually be found in Asian grocery stores.

Sweet and Salty Soybeans (Kongjaban 콩자반)

3 square bowls with glazed black beans with green leaf garnish
Sweet and Salty Soybeans (콩자반 Kongjaban)

The measure of a good Kongjaban is when the soybeans have just the right bite and the sauce has a good balance of sweet and salty flavors.

Radish Salad (Moo Saeng Che 무생채)

Radish salad with red chili pepper powder in glass bowl
Radish Salad (Moo Saeng Che 무생채)

Radish has various digestive enzymes to help us digest carbs, fats, and proteins, making this sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy side dish a great accompaniment to BBQ meat.

Sweet Kabocha Squash Salad  (Danhobak Salad 단호박 사라다) 

top view of 2 kabocha squash salad in white bowls on dark brown wood background
Kabocha Squash Salad Recipe (Korean Danhobak Salad)

Sweet and creamy, this Korean vegetable side dish is a treat everyone in the family, including the kids, will love. High in vitamin C and beta-carotene, kabocha squash is considered a healing food in Korea.

I hope you get to try all 15 Korean vegetable side dishes (banchan)!

You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM or join my FACEBOOK GROUP to see other Korean recipes and to ask and share everything about Korean food with others just like you!

XOXO,
JinJoo

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5 Comments
  1. Amy@amysdeliciousdiscoveries.com says

    Posted on 16 February 2020 at 9:00 am

    Thank you for all the side dish recipes. Ban Chans are my favorite at korean restaurants (more than the main meal)! I was looking for ban Chan recipes to pair with my instant pot korean beef stew recipe, but will also still be tasty if I made it a day or two in advance, so the freshness chart is super awesome! Thanks for putting it together!

    Reply
  2. Maria Del Hierro says

    Posted on 25 August 2019 at 5:24 pm

    Hey! This was helpful but I couldn’t find a side dish that was served to me at a Korean restaurant. The dish looked like spinach but it tastes more like seaweed, and it was probably seasoned with onion and vinagre. It was really tasty and I want to know what it is.
    My brother pointed out that it tasted like the seasoning on Otogi ramen noodles.

    Reply
    • JinJoo says

      Posted on 26 August 2019 at 10:31 am

      Hi, I think you are probably looking for seaweed salad? miyeok cho muchim. I don’t have a recipe for it yet on my blog but you can just use the same seaweed from this recipe https://kimchimari.com/seaweed-side-dish-miyeok-julgi-bokkeum/ and then instead of sauteeing it, you just season it with vinegar, sugar, sliced onions and some sesame seeds. I hope you will subscribe so you can get the full recipe when I post it in the future! Thank you for asking.

      Reply
  3. Meghan says

    Posted on 10 May 2019 at 11:33 am

    Thank you so much for providing the freshness chart! I really, really appreciate having it all in one spot.

    Reply
    • JinJoo says

      Posted on 10 May 2019 at 12:03 pm

      Thank you for appreciating it!!

      Reply

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Nutritional Facts in my recipe cards are provided PER SERVING and it’s an estimate and may not be accurate. Due to different brands of ingredients having different nutritional values, the values I provide here may be different from your preparation.

– Gluten-Free recipe assumes you are using gluten-free soy sauce (since many soy sauces contain gluten or wheat) and/or gluten-free gochujang.

– MSG & Corn Syrup FREE – these are never used in my recipes

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