This week's banchan
Tuesday 29 September to Sunday 4 October
Banchan are the small side dishes served with every Korean meal. Here they are free, refilled once on request, and nearly all of them come out of the jars in our courtyard.
In the jars
The jar fills up with age: when it is full, the banchan is just right.
- 배추김치baechu gimchiCabbage kimchiJarred on 8 September21 days, just right
Brie napa cabbage salted overnight, then rubbed with chilli paste, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and salted shrimp.
SpicyContains: fish, crustaceans
- 깍두기kkakdugiCubed radish kimchiJarred on 19 September10 days, nearly ready
Big crunchy cubes of white radish, seasoned like the kimchi with a little pear juice for sweetness.
SpicyContains: fish, crustaceans
- 동치미dongchimiRadish water kimchiJarred on 15 September14 days, just right
Whole radishes in a light brine with leek, pear and green chilli. Drink the fizzy, chilled juice too.
Not spicyVegetarianNone of the 14 regulated allergens
- 오이소박이oi sobagiStuffed cucumber kimchiJarred on 26 September3 days, nearly ready
Small cucumbers split crosswise and stuffed with garlic chives and chilli. Made without fish sauce, so it is vegetarian.
MildVegetarianNone of the 14 regulated allergens
- 깻잎장아찌kkaennip jangajjiSoy-pickled perilla leavesJarred on 1 September28 days, just right
Perilla leaves from the courtyard planters, stacked in a ganjang and vinegar brine. One leaf per mouthful of rice.
Not spicyVegetarianContains: soy, gluten, sesame
- 단무지danmujiYellow pickled radishJarred on 22 September7 days, nearly ready
Radish dried for two days, then pickled with rice bran, sugar and gardenia fruit, which gives the yellow colour. Nothing artificial.
Not spicyVegetarianNone of the 14 regulated allergens
Made today, not fermented
Prepared every morning to balance the sourness of the kimchi.
시금치나물Sesame spinach
Blanched for thirty seconds, squeezed by hand, dressed with garlic, salt and sesame oil.
VegetarianContains: sesame
우엉조림Glazed burdock root
Julienned burdock root reduced with soy sauce and rice syrup until glossy. Sweet and slightly earthy.
VegetarianContains: soy, gluten, sesame
콩나물무침Seasoned soybean sprouts
Crunchy soybean sprouts with spring onion, a pinch of gochugaru and toasted sesame seeds.
VegetarianContains: soy, sesame
What happens next?
After sixty days our cabbage kimchi becomes mukeunji: sourer, deeper, too strong to serve as it is. That is when it goes into the kimchi jjigae on the menu.
See the kimchi jjigae