Banchan: a piece of home in a little dish
Kimchi, K-Town, and cooking Korean in London
When I was growing up, there were always a million little plates cluttering our refrigerator: small dishes filled to the brim with vivid red squares of kimchi, shiny glass noodles, golden little fish and more. Say hello to banchan (반찬), or ‘side dish’.
Ban-chan is a food dish of tiny portions, served in plenty, at almost every meal in a Korean restaurant or household. Because it’s such a staple, it may be of some comfort to Korean international students as they try to find a piece of home in their new life, here in London.
WHERE TO BUY
A simple Google search will point you in the right direction but barely scratch the surface. Top suggestions will be for Duri Mart in Ealing, Oseyo on Tottenham Court Road, and Centre Point Food Store on Oxford Street.
I personally drop by the Oseyo when I realise my stock of instant ramen is running low, but also I discovered by word of mouth that there was a small Seoul Plaza at Finchley Road, which is much closer to my student accommodation in Wembley.
These marts are central enough to London that they’re easy to get to, no matter where your campus or accommodation might be. They carry the basics of every Korean student’s diet: alcohol, microwaveable rice, flavourful pastes, a variety of other instant meals, and banchan.
But if you’re looking for more, you’ll want to take a train to New Malden, otherwise known as London’s very own K-Town. They have a variety of large supermarkets to choose to shop from, including Korea Foods, H Mart, and Seoul Plaza. The roads here are paved with a multitude of restaurants, all offering an authenticity in menu and taste that the Korean restaurants in London miss more often than they hit.
Most Korean students will prefer to use a rice cooker to microwaveable rice, which is not that healthy of a choice and also more expensive. You’ll find a very limited selection at the smaller marts around central London, so head down to the bigger markets at New Malden for a proper selection to choose from. The supermarkets at New Malden also carry a wider frozen foods selection, including seafood, dumplings, meat, and more.
Most of the bigger-brand Korean marts will offer delivery services as well.
HOW TO MAKE
Korean students are all familiar with this phrase: jachwi (자취). It means to live alone, apart from family, and cook for yourself. As tempting as it may be to just purchase premade ban-chan at your local Korean mart, the prices rack up quickly. A small box of ojingeo chae (오징어채), or dried shredded squid, will typically cost you over £10 for less than 200g. Funnily enough though, it’s an easy fix at home.
Here are two easy to follow recipes for banchan you can try at home!
EASY TO FIND ANYWHERE / ONLY AT ASIAN + KOREAN MARTS
> MYEOLCHI BOKGEUM (멸치 볶음), or STIR-FRIED DRIED ANCHOVIES
Ingredients: 1-2 cloves of garlic, dried anchovies, olive oil, mirim, honey
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Dice the garlic cloves.
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Add olive oil to a fairly large pan, add the garlic and stir fry over medium-high heat.
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Add 2-3 handfuls of dried anchovies.
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Add 1 tsp of mirim (미림), or Korean cooking wine, to the dried anchovies to remove strong fish odours and enhance the flavour.
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Continue to stir-fry until lightly browned. The dried anchovies burn easily, so be careful not to leave it on the stove too long!
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Turn off the heat.
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Drizzle honey over the dried anchovies and mix together.
> OJINGEO CHAE MU-CHIM (오징어채 무침), or DRIED SHREDDED SQUID.
Ingredients: shredded squid, gochujang, soy sauce, mirim, olive oil, sugar, sesame oil, water
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Prepare the seasoning: add 1 generous tsp of gochujang (고추장), or hot pepper paste, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp mirim, 1 tsp olive oil, ½ tsp sugar, and 3 tsp of water to a pot.
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Mix everything together well and boil on high heat.
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Add 2,3 handfuls of the dried shredded squid to the pot.
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Stir-fry over medium heat until the seasoning covers all of the squid.
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Turn off the heat and add chamgireum (참기름), or sesame oil, lightly over the squid and mix well.
Having familiar foods always eases a bit of the homesickness that comes with being an international student, so I hope this helps. Happy eating!
Words and photography: Claire Chung | Subbing: Taylor Paatalo