These Are The Easy Korean Side Dishes You Can Make At Home

Korean barbecue is a fantastic buffet meal that combines the best grilled meats with Korean side dishes, sauces, and other flavors that makes it a complete meal. 

You can have your Korean barbecue and all of its accompanying banchan or side dishes delivered to you but if you're planning on having one at home without any help from a delivery service, here are five easy side dishes you can easily prepare at home:   

Photo by Jason Goh from Pixabay

1 Kimchi Recipe 

You cannot have a Korean barbecue without this iconic spicy vegetable dish on the side. Kimchi is salted, fermented, and spiced vegetables. It's traditionally and most commonly made with the Chinese or napa cabbage but there are other variations that are just as delicious that use cucumbers and even the daikon radish or labanos, too. 

You're going to need a lot of chili powder for one recipe, but the other ingredients are kitchen staples, so you can easily cut the recipe to fit how much vegetable you have. 

2 Pajeon Recipe 

Spring onion makes these savory pancakes appetizing and delicious. There are many ways to make this incredibly delicious but there are actually many ingredients in this dish and it's worth it when it's made. It has chunks of squid, shrimps, spring onions, and chili peppers and seasoned with chili powder in the two-flour batter. Since this is a side dish you can skip all seafood and keep the flavors you want to pair with your beef instead to keep it simple and easier to make. 

Photo by Riell Santos

3 Ginisang Togue Recipe 

A simple bowl of sautéed togue or bean sprouts is a classic side for samgyeopsal. It's a traditional dish but what makes this super easy is really the mere fact that these just need to be simply seasoned, heated through, and then served immediately. You can skip the ground meat if you're making this for a set of banchan so you can more enjoy the Korean beef you're serving this with.    

Photo by Patrick Martires

4 Sautéed Chili Eggplant Recipe

Chili powder is fantastic when you're using it for kimchi but when it comes to another kind of chili ingredient, the gochujang is the chili paste that makes Korean recipes so irresistible. It's more flavorful than just having that tingling spicy heat hit your tongue. It's got fruity notes that deliver a fantastic flavor to dishes it is added to like these eggplants sautéed in the paste that pairs well with the Korean beef you're cooking it with.     

 

Photo by Aldwin Aspillera

5 Herbed Potatoes Recipe 

Potatoes are another classic accompaniment to Korean barbecue but while it's usually a braised version of these potatoes that are served, why not make a recipe that you can make that's easy and familiar but still delicious. Plus, these starchy cubes are perfect for adding bulk to your meal when you aren't in the mood for rice. 

These aren't the only side dishes you can pair with your Korean beef, but these can be the start of a wonderful set of banchan you can make for every Korean barbecue meal at home.

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