Some of my favorite Korean foods are simple side dishes (called banchan in Korean) that are basically sautéed, seasoned vegetables. The recent arrival of spring inspired me to try cooking these vegetables.

Below are recipes for sautéed, seasoned spinach (sigeumji namul) and sautéed, seasoned soybean sprouts (kongnamul muchim.) I’ve paired these recipes together for convenience because their ingredients and cooking methods are almost identical. Koreans eat both of these vegetables as side dishes with a variety of meals.

Kongnamul Muchim (Seasoned Soybean Sprouts) — 콩나물무침

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. fresh soybean sprouts*

Seasoning

  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce**
  • 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  •  2 green onions, chopped (or 6 scallion stalks)
  • ½ tsp. Korean red pepper powder (optional)***

*These sprouts are what most people think of when they think of bean sprouts. (See photo above). I specified that they are soybean sprouts merely because another type of bean sprout — mung bean sprouts — are also commonly used in Korean food.

**To make this recipe gluten free, I used San-J Organic Tamari Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (available at Whole Foods or for $6.69 + shipping on Amazon.com.)

***You can find plastic bags or canisters of Korean red pepper powder (called gochugaru in Korean) at Asian grocery stores or on Amazon.com for about $13 a pound. Gochugaru‘s consistency is between a coarse powder and a fine flake, so it is sometimes called red pepper powder or hot pepper powder and sometimes called red chili flakes. (See photo above.)

Steps

  • Wash bean sprouts, removing hair-like ends and loose hulls.
  • Boil water in covered pot.
  • Add bean sprouts and cook for 8-10 minutes in boiling water. (NOTE: Bean sprouts should be tender, but not overcooked.)
  • Drain bean sprouts and rinse in cold water.
  • Mix bean sprouts with seasoning ingredients and chill until serving time.

Sigeumji-500

Sigeumji Namul (Seasoned Spinach) — 시금치나물

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. fresh spinach

Seasoning:

  • 1 Tbsp. chopped green onion (or scallions)
  • ¼ tsp. black pepper
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce*

*To make this recipe gluten free, I used San-J Organic Tamari Gluten-Free Soy Sauce (available at Whole Foods or for $6.69 + shipping on Amazon.com.)

Steps

  • Wash spinach.
  • Boil water in a pot.
  • Add spinach to pot and boil for 1 minute.
  • Drain spinach, rinse with cold water and press out excess water.
  • Cut spinach into 2-inch lengths.
  • Mix with seasoning ingredients.
  • Serve.

[Recipes from “Korean Cooking”, an out-of-print cookbook created by the Korean Institute of Minnesota.]