banchan
Small shared plates
Banchan are the small side dishes served alongside rice in Korean cuisine.
They arrive in numerous small plates—kimchi, pickled vegetables, seasoned spinach, dried anchovies—and are shared communally, replenished throughout the meal.
The banchan kept coming before we'd even ordered.
The variety signals hospitality and balances flavors across the table.
Fermented Korean vegetables
- fermentationMicrobial sugar conversion
- brineWater saturated with sodium
- probioticsLive microorganisms aiding digestion
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
salted · pungency · sourness · aged · cultured · tangy · cured
Fermented Korean vegetables
Dividing among others
- side-dishesFoods alongside the main
- refillableAble to restore contents
- complimentaryFree or expressing praise
- assortmentMixed collection of things
variety · abundance · hospitality · generosity · accompaniment · table-setting · ssam · bowls
kimchi
Fermented Korean vegetables
- fermentationMicrobial sugar conversion
- brineWater saturated with sodium
- probioticsLive microorganisms aiding digestion
preservation · salted · pungency · sourness · aged · cultured · tangy · cured
kimchi
Fermented Korean vegetables
sharing
Dividing among others
- side-dishesFoods alongside the main
- refillableAble to restore contents
- complimentaryFree or expressing praise
assortment · variety · abundance · hospitality · generosity · accompaniment · table-setting · ssam · bowls · chopsticks
garlic
Pungent culinary bulb
cucumber · radish · anchovies · seaweed · burdock · eggplant · bracken · daikon · zucchini
- KoreaSeoul, Korea, Busan, Incheon, South Korea
- shared dishesfondue, hot pot, tapas, mezze, dim sum
- Korean foodkimchi, bibimbap, bulgogi, japchae, gimbap
- Korean heritagehanbok, hangeul, kimchi, celadon, palaces
- Korean Wordsoppa, kimchi, bibimbap, bulgogi, gimbap
- Asian barbecuebulgogi, kalbi, pork belly, short rib, short ribs