Have you ever watched a Korean drama food scene with an illustrious amount of small dishes on the table? These array of small side dishes are called banchan!!!! Banchan, (pronounced Bahn-chaare a variety of side dishes that accompany rice (bap) and/or the main attraction dish at the dining table.

All these gorgeous side dishes come in many forms, you mostly have a lot of delicious pickled, sautéed and nuanced flavored vegetables, fish, or meat and they were birthed out of an acclimation to meeting agricultural means.

These dishes are in a class of their own, and for me personally i’ve had the pleasure of tasting some from local restaurants, Hmart, and now making them from home to accompany a meal. However if I am to be honest, that order isn’t chronicled correctly. I saw a bunch of k-dramas, got hungry and threw a few pans around in the kitchen ( if I do say so myself they were delicious). Then I went to Hmart to try a few, and a couple of restaurants solidified my opinion that banchan is king.

Speaking of king, this garlic romanesco recipe pairs great with the k-drama titled “Mr. Queen”. Not only is Mr. Queen a period piece (which I love), but it is a comedy that highlights tradition, modern and fusion food in Korean culture. It is presented in such a fun way.

Episode 3, every food or played scene will have the banchan present with the main dishes and rice. Theres this hilarious scene where the Queen is craving ramen, however it was not invented yet so she keeps sending back the food to the Royal Chef, so funny ( If you want to find out more about Mr. Queen, tune into our podcast soon! we will be discussing the show in more detail)… I digress

Below, is a take on garlic broccoli, you can sub in broccoli, broccolini or any other veggie for the recipe however I used romanessco because they were in season at a local farmers market and to be fair I wanted to use them before they went bad (lol). The dish turned out epic, The star is the romanesco and you can serve it alone, with rice or your main dinner however if you choose to make the toast, you will not be disappointed! You will come to find I love pretty toast.

Ingredients

1 head of Romanesco (or broccoli)

7-12 cloves of garlic ( I have a very heavy garlic hand, but use at your discretion)

1 tbsp of sesame oil

1 tsp of salt

Ground pepper, as much or as little preferred

For toast, you will need

1-2 slices of toasted sourdough bread (or any bread on hand)

1/3-1/2 cup of labneh

scallion oil

How To

1. Rinse, clean and slice romanesco and reserve to the side

2. In a pot, fill it up to about half way, sprinkle a bit of salt and bring to a boil. Add romanesco to pot when boiled for about 2-3 minutes.

3. Immediately blanch the romanesco and set aside ( simply place the boiled romanesco into a bowl of ice water. Swish it around to halt cooking and drain the iced water out. Set the cooked romanesco to the side.

4. minced the garlic, in a sauté pan add the sesame oil and garlic. Saute until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes

5. Add the romanesco, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. I like it with a bit of a bite, but you can leave it longer depending on your preference.

6. When the romanesco is done, you can serve immediately as a side, or have it solo! It also can be stored in the fridge for a few days. Enjoy!

Bonus Recipe ( Garlic Romanesco Toast with Labneh)

1. Toast slice(s) of bread

2. smear a liberal amount of labneh (strained greek yogurt, cream cheese is an alternative, or vegan cream cheese) on each slice

3. drizzle scallion oil next, ( simply chop scallions and simmer in a pan on low heat with vegetable oil or grapeseed oil for about 15 minutes, it is rewarding I promise and so versatile not just for toast).

4. add the cooked romanesco on top and be ready to thank yourself for making a delicious k-drama snack…or new brunch treat…or dinner. It really works with anything!

I hope you enjoy! This toast recipe also allows for you to keep your eyes on the screen, so you do not miss a thing!