A collection of 15 delicious Korean vegetable side dishes (banchan) you can make at home!
Here’s a collection of easy and healthy Korean vegetable side dishes (banchan, 반찬)! Mostly vegan! While these are staple dishes on the Korean table (bapsang, 밥상) that are enjoyed year round, they are certainly better with summer’s abundant fresh vegetables.
This comprehensive list covers many Korean cooking techniques (blanching, steaming, braising, and stir-frying) for vegetables and typical seasonings used for different vegetable side dishes. Whether you’re looking for a simple side dish or two for your Korean grilling, or an array of side dishes for other Korean meals, these banchan will complement just about any main dish!
If you make a few of these side dishes and have some left over, make bibimbap or tofu bibimbap.
1. Kongnamul Muchim (Seasoned Soybean Sprouts)
2. Sigeumchi Namul (Seasoned Spinach)
3. Oi Muchim (Spicy Cucumber Salad)
4. Hobak Bokkeum (Stir-fried Zucchini)
5. Gaji Namul (Steamed Eggplants)
6. Sukju Namul (Seasoned Bean Sprouts)
7. Oi Bokkeum (Stir-fried Cucumbers)
8. Watercress Namul
9. Mu Saengchae (Spicy Radish Salad)
10. Gamja Jorim (Braised Potatoes)
11. Putbaechu (Young Cabbage) Doenjang Muchim
12. Mu Namul (Stir-fried Radish)
13. Sesame Broccoli
14. Gaji Bokkeum (Stir-fried Eggplants)
15. Mu Saengchae (Sweet and Sour Radish Salad)
See here for a complete list of side dishes.
Fantastic!
Thank you, Caroline!
Hi Hyosun
As usual love this!
Here in Singapore, many of the Korean restaurants serve a crunchy lotus root in creamy sesame dressing and also a cold beige opaque’ish jelly (not quite sure what the infusion is). Do you by chance have the recipes for these, or are these localized Singaporean ban chan?
Thank you so much!
Li-Yong
The jelly is a Korean dish, and can be made a multitude of things, depending on the color, but is essentially just bean jelly, often seasoned due to the fact that it has little flavor on its own.
Thank you very much
awesome… now I can make it at home. Thank you so much..
Can I save oi muchim at fridge? Thank you
Yes you can refrigerate it. Enjoy!
WHERE IS THE KIMCHI?!
Kimchi is a whole different category! I plan on doing a collection of kimchi recipes in the future.
Hi! It’s a nice post btw. I’m gonna work in South Korea next year and wondering if i happen to buy some side dish from gwangjang market and store it in refrigerator, how long those banchan will last before it becomes stale? Thankyou
Most of them should keep well for a few days, and some of them will last much longer. Enjoy your Korea stay!
I have tried 4 of these side dishes so far. Wonderful and so tasty!
Thank you, Mary! Hope you like the others as well if you get to try them.
Dear Mrs. Hyosun, I’m Indonesian and really enjoy your Korean recipes on your blog! They’re delicious at all! I tried some of them ^^ anyway, how long can I keep my sigeumchi namul in my fridge? Is it still fresh if I keep it for 2-3 days? Thank you ^^
Great looking veggies
Do you have a recipe for the soy braised black beans? I don’t see them as often when I eat at Korean restaurants but it’s one of my favorites.
Here it is: https://www.koreanbapsang.com/2013/03/kongjang-soy-braised-soybeans.html
Where’s the Kimchi?!
My family is beginning to like korean dishes especially my youngest daughter who is a k-pop fanatic…anyway, where can i get the ingredients of each side dishes and how to prepare it? Thank you so much….kamsahamnida!
If you click on each one of these, you will find the ingredient list for the dish. You can find some of the ingredients in your local grocery store or a Korean/Asian market. Hope you try making some of these and enjoy!
I love your website. Two weeks ago, I made your traditional kimchi recipe for the first time. It turned out very salty, I believe because I didn’t rinse off the initial salt thoroughly. Otherwise, it’s good. I don’t want to waste it, so here’s what I thought I could do: Chop up the salty kimchi ‘ears’, make another batch of kimchi with chopped napa cabbage and mix it with the salty batch, reducing the overall salt level. Is there a better way to save the salty batch?
Seems to me that a lot of Korean dishes flavor profiles include
-Sesame seeds or sesame oil
-garlic
-soy sauce
The hard part is finding different banchan to make that don’t all have the same flavor profile…
That’s the beauty of Korean cooking. It creates all sorts of different tasting dishes with a few simple seasoning ingredients highlighting the flavors and textures of the vegetables used. Also, try the ones that use doenjang (fermented soybean paste) and/or gochujang (chili pepper paste) to season the vegetables.
Thank you Ms Hyosun for your most generous sharing
Would you be publishing a book with all your recipes?
I would definitely purchase for myself and my friends 🙂
Thank you, Lucie! I hope to do that in the future.
fantistic and easy to prepare,
cook at home…
Thank you!
I love your recipes! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and passion for cooking!
I love Korean cooking aside from Filipino food…
Hi Hyosun,
May i know what is the banchan’s storage life if i keep them in the fridge?
Thinking if i can make more and keep it for few days.
Thank you 🙂
It varies depending on the ingredients, but generally 4 to 5 days and longer for the dishes like radish salad (both spicy and mild).