Korean

Korean cuisine is known for the wide array of side dishes. At home you’ll see 2-3, but some restaurants bring out upwards of six. Not all, but a good portion of these dishes are plant-based. You’ll find some that are protein-based, but more commonly these banchan, or sides are veggies. Sometimes I want to fill up on banchan before I get to the meal, but those Korean food recipes are for another day and another post.

Like other Asian countries, food is communal. Everyone gets a bowl of rice and that is the main. At home, everything is on the table at the same time. At restaurants, rice will most certainly arrive first, but the other dishes are short order. They’ll come out HOT. I mean like right out of the frying pan. Many times I almost burned my mouth on a dish I didn’t realize was that fresh.

Okay, I digress. Let’s talk about that South Korean food I love so much, fermented veggies. Kimchi is so much more than the red one you often see at restaurants. There are hundreds, probably more, versions of this popular probiotic. My daughter got her hands on an outstanding kimchi recipe while she lived in Asia. Make sure to check it out!