Recipes for Popular Korean Side Dishes

Every Korean meal includes anywhere from two to 12 side dishes (banchan). The most important and well-known is kimchi, of which there are more than 100 varieties. However, there are also hundreds of other types of side dishes, including stewed crab and egg custard.

This list of popular non-kimchi banchan includes vegetarian, meat and fish side dishes for your table.

  • 01 of 04

    Korean Rolled Egg Omelette (Gaeran Mari) Recipe

    Eggs for Gaeran Mari
    Riou/Digital Vision/Getty Images

    This Korean rolled egg omelet (gaeran mari) recipe is as easy as any American omelet. It not only looks beautiful on the table, but it's an easy side dish for any meal. Delicious and full of protein, gaeran mari is a complete breakfast and an easy addition to a bento lunch or a Korean dinner.

  • 02 of 04

    How to Make Korean Scallion Pancake (Pa Jun)

    Scallion pancakes with soy sauce

    The Spruce

     

    This Korean scallion pancake recipe is easy to make and is always a big crowd-pleaser. It works as a hearty snack, an appetizer or a side dish to a Korean or Asian meal. As with most Korean recipes and dishes, you can tweak it to your own tastes. That means if you have the typical Western palette and don't like spicy food, you can reduce the number of spices to your liking.

  • 03 of 04

    How to Prepare Korean Pickled Cucumber (Oi Jee)

    Korean Pickled Cucumber
    Naomi Imatome

    These crisp Korean cucumber pickles are delicious and easy to make. To serve, slice the pickles and serve plain or garnish them with scallions or chives. You can also adjust the salt level by rinsing the pickle slices with water or letting them sit in a bowl of water.

  • 04 of 04

    Korean Pickled Garlic (Manul Changachi) Recipe

    Korean Manul Changachi
    Naomi Imatome

    Manul Changachi (Korean pickled garlic) is crunchy, salty and a little bit spicy. It's not the flashiest banchan (side dish), but it can get addictive. A number of Koreans like garlic in almost any form, but if you are new to popping whole cloves of garlic in your mouth, then it's best to start with the youngest garlic cloves for pickling.