Banchan Set A

These are a few banchan (Korean side dishes) that we make as a set and eat as a meal. Made in smaller portions, these would be great side dishes for a soup or rice dish.

The dishes included in this set are:

• Seogogi jeon, meat slices battered with egg
• Oi muchim, a spicy cucumber salad
• Hwachae, a refreshing watermelon and fruit punch - although simply cut up watermelon is a good low-effort alternative

Seogogi jeon 쇠고기전

Adapted from Maangchi's recipe

It's like french toast but with meat. This provides umami and salty flavors to balance out the set's spicy, vinegar, and sweet flavors provided by the other dishes.

Ingredients

Makes about 20 strips

• 1lb beef sirloin
• 3 eggs
• 2-3c flour, separated
• 2tsp toasted sesame oil
• Seasoning based on preference (salt, pepper)
• Cooking oil, as needed

Preparation

1. Trim the fat from the meat, then cut into thin (0.25cm) strips against the grain
2. Coat the meat slices in toasted sesame oil and garlic. This can be accomplished by laying them out and brushing the seasoning on, or putting everything in a bag and shaking until the meat is evenly coated
3. Crack the eggs into a bowl, then beat until uniform
4. Pile 1c flour into another bowl or plate, keeping more on the side when that runs out. Add salt and pepper as desired
5. Lightly oil a pan on medium heat

Instructions

1. Dip the meat slices into the flour mixture, ensuring it's coated on all sides. This can be done ahead of time or one-by-one
2. Dip the flour-y meat slices into the egg mixture, one at a time, ensuring it's coated on all sides. The more egg it takes with it, the better it tastes!
3. Place the egg-y meat slice onto the pan
4. Repeat until the pan is full, but not too crowded
5. Cook each slice 1-2 minutes per side before removing to a plate to rest
6. Wipe down and re-oil the pan between batches

Oi Muchim 오이무침

Adapted from Korean Bapsang's recipe

Lightly spicy, tangy cucumber salad that is a refreshing contrast to the other banchan in this set. The cucumber rests in salt for 15 minutes prior to making the dish to remove excess moisture, which makes the cucumber more crisp.

Ingredients

Makes about 3-4 servings

• 1 large cucumber, or 2 small ones, depending on what's in season
• 0.5tsp salt
• 1tbs gochugaru
• 1tbs green onion
• 0.5tsp minced garlic, or 1 clove
• 1tsp vinegar
• 0.5tsp sugar
• 1tsp toasted sesame oil

Preparation

1. Thinly slice or mandolin the cucumber
2. Toss the cucumber slices with the salt, then let sit in a bowl or sieve for 15 minutes

Instructions

1. Gently strain excess liquid from the cucumber slices
2. Mix all ingredients together, adjusting as desired

Hwachae 화채

Adapted from Ms Shi and Mr He's recipe

This is a refreshing, sweet fruit salad in a sparkling, milky punch. It's great as a dessert, and offsets the umami, spicy, and vinegar flavors of the other two banchan in this set.

In general you'll want this dish to be 50% watermelon, balanced with a similar amount of mixed berries and other fruits or sweet ingredients. We keep it simple and use strawberries and grapes.

While this recipe is most often made in a punch bowl all at once, like you would at a family picnic, in an at-home setting it's better to only make the punch when you're ready to serve. This prevents the soda from going flat, and means the mixture will be cold and refreshing the moment you eat it. Any unused fruit mixture can then be refrigerated and used later, rather than being a milky liability.

This is most often replaced by cut up watermelon alone when we make this - the end result of balancing the other dishes is met just the same, but with a lot less effort.

Ingredients

Makes a lot of servings, depending on how big your watermelon is.

• 3c watermelon, or 1 small watermelon
• 3c of mixed fruit, based on preference (strawberries, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi, etc)
• 1 can of Sprite or other lemon-lime soda
• 1 bottle of strawberry milk
• 1/4c condensed milk optional

Preparation

1. Cube the watermelon so that a cube can be comfortably eaten with a spoon
2. Cut the berries and fruits into halves, quarters, or slices depending on their size

Instructions

1. Combine all fruit ingredients in a very large bowl, and gently mix
2. When ready to serve, make smaller bowls of the fruit mixture, adding the liquid ingredients in a 1:1 ratio until the bowl is filled and resembles a fruit "stew"
3. Optionally, top with condensed milk