Spice up any meal with Korean side dishes.

In this issue, I share with you some lovely Korean side dishes. Traditional Korean cuisine will typically have several of these ‘banchan’ to complete a meal. These tasty side dishes will spice up any barbecued meat, but they work just as well with some rice as a vegetarian lunch.

Soy and honey glazed potato

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

• 2 cups cubed potato

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 tbsp honey

• 2 cloves garlic, grated

• 1 in. cube ginger, grated

• 2 spring onions, sliced

• black sesame seeds

Heat a nonstick frying pan up and add the vegetable oil. Add the potatoes and fry for about 7 minutes or until browned slightly and halfway cooked. Add water, soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger, and cover with a lid. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and add the spring onions. Reduce the sauce for another 5 minutes or until the potatoes are browned and the sauce is sticky. Add sesame seeds to serve.

Spicy spinach

• 1 bunch spinach

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 3 cloves garlic, grated

• 2 in. piece ginger, grated

• 1 tbsp spicy fermented chili bean paste

Wash and blanch the spinach quickly. Rinse with cold water and squeeze out excess moisture. In a bowl, mix other ingredients well, then add spinach and toss thoroughly. Serve at room temperature.