I adore Korean food. On Sunday I ended up stopping at H-Mart, the Korean market on 32nd Street (it’s in K-town).
At H-Mart I was seduced by pre-made panchan (side dishes; also spelled banchan). I picked up a few of the cheap ones ($1.99 each). First there was an egg pancake thing with some veggies:
Then I got an amazing daikon kimchi. This was slightly sweet and different from any kimchi I’ve ever had. It’s the best kimchi I’ve had though!
I got shredded and pickled daikon too… (A little sweet, a little sour, just right.)
And some steamed (or sauteed?) spinach with sesame seeds and soy sauce. (This is very similar to gomaee, a Japanese spinach dish. My gomaee recipe is here.)
And my other favorite (aside from the cool daikon kimchi) – sprouts! I don’t know how these are prepared but they’re really yum.
I also got a Japanese side dish, takuan (a different pickled daikon). This is one of Bobby’s favorites. We always soak it in water for a little bit before we eat it, otherwise it’s too salty.
We didn’t just have the side dishes though. We took lettuce leaves and filled them with white rice, then added different side dishes for topping, then dipped them in hoisin and hot sauce. I was out of that amazing Korean red sauce, but hoisin+hot sauce worked almost as well. Must remember to pick up the red sauce next time I’m at the store.
They kind of reminded me of the FUSHI I made all the time last summer.
Ahh, yum. I will make that again soon too.
What’s your favorite Korean side dish? Which ones would you want to try?
Hey Maggie!
I don’t understand Korean food at all…but everything looks perfectly delish!
I keep wanting to try Thai food too but I heard it’s spicy.
not sure how spicy “SPICY” is.
sorry you’re sick. Get better chica!
and YES, I remember your fushi! I made a bunch of it last summer because of you!
xoxox
i like spicy food like spicy meat tofu soup
I’ve only eaten Korean once or twice, and all I remember was a fried egg. However, I am quite intrigued by the egg pancake thingy, and the sprout…um, and the pickled daikon. I wonder where I could find this kind of food in Nashville? I need to do some research.
Hope you feel better soon Maggie!!!
Never had a Korean dish. But looks good!
I LOVE Korean food. Love love love it. The spiciness, the sesame oil, the insurmountable amount of banchan… I love it all. Honestly.
My favourite banchan is bean sprouts (I don’t know how they’re prepared either, so flavourful but so fresh!), KIMCHI, and… well, I can’t really think of any banchan that have universal names! Sometimes my favourite Korean restaurant has stuff like pumpkin, sometimes there’s radish, sauteed spinach, etc etc. But honestly, I could just go there, order a bowl of rice and make a meal out of the (free) banchan. 😛 Sadly I can’t. But they’re so delicious! XD
Wei-Wei
So far I’ver never had the chance to eat Korean but I really want to 🙂 I’ll have to look for a Korean restaurant in Helsinki.
I’m Korean so I naturally love it. The side dishes are the best. I can go to a Korean restaurant and make a meal out of just the side dishes.
I’ve only eaten Korean once or twice, and all I remember was a fried egg. However, I am quite intrigued by the egg pancake thingy, and the sprout…um, and the pickled daikon. I wonder where I could find this kind of food in Nashville? I need to do some research.
Hope you feel better soon Maggie!!!