A lot of people ask me about Korean side dishes called ‘banchan’. There are a countless variety banchans in Korea. A typical Korean meal consists of rice, soup and 3~4 banchans.
We use a name for table setting depending on number of banchans like 3 cheop, 5 cheop or 7 cheop. A long time ago, there was a hierarchical system developed in determining the number of banchans made for every table. For example, a normal family could get 3~5 cheop, or number of banchans, and the nobility could have 7 cheop or 9 cheop. King’s table usually had 12 cheop that consisting 12 banchans with rice, soup and kimchi. The rice, soup and kimchi are not included the number of banchans because we eat them everyday. Also some of Korean restaurant serve over 10 banchans, but this is considered unusual in family meal or school cafeteria.
As everyone think, it is very hard to make several banchans for every meal. When I make a banchan, I usually cook 5~6 meals worth and store them in refrigerator. However, some banchans can go bad quickly especially in summer. So, it depends on the Ingredient.
When I was young, my mother always prepared all parts of the meal including rice, soup and banchans. Rice was cooked in a rice cooker, soup was cooked in a pot and we would just take the banchans out from a refrigerator. So even when my mom wasn’t home, our family would still be able to prepare and eat food. Sometimes I would eat fast-food instead of the normal meal and my mom always criticize me, saying ’Why did you eat the unhealthy food? You can eat a meal at home. Just fill a bowl with rice and heat the soup, and take banchans out of the refrigerator. I prepared all the things. Please eat healthy food we have at home!’. Nowadays, since I live along, I do not cook for myself and I eat a meal with a couple of banchans.
There is no rule for number of banchans in every meal. It depends on personal preference or family custom.
