- [Matthew] We're at Jun Won,
and this is a 23-year-old restaurant.
They were so successful,
that they decided to do a standalone banchan store,
and a production facility.
It's very small and it's where everything can be crafted
for both the restaurant and for grab-and-go.
We're gonna meet with Mrs. Jun,
who founded the restaurant and also the banchan store,
and we are gonna sit down and make some
banchan from scratch, which is super exciting.
This banchan store, she opened in 2008
to basically support the restaurant and also
so people can come in and grab the stuff, take it home,
and have an amazing meal.
(upbeat music)
So, she's from the region of Chungcheongnam-do
and the town she's actually from is from Seosan.
She learned to make banchan from her mother.
These are the roasted anchovies that we're going to use.
What's cool about these anchovies,
so actually the heads have been removed,
and the guts have been taken out.
The guts have kind of a bitter flavor.
(upbeat music)
It's all by feel here.
(laughing)
It smells so good.
I mean, that caramelization of that chili paste sauce.
It's done.
(upbeat music)
It's got a good balance of heat, that chili spice is there,
sweetness, kind of like a caramel-y sweetness
to round it out.
We're going to make this little thing
called a tonggorangtteng, with ground beef.
They're like little rounds.
They're like little meat rounds.
(driving hip hop)
150 tonggorangttengs will be coming out
of this thing right here.
(laughing)
There's a certain rolling technique
that takes decades to master.
I'm not doing it.
(foreign speaking)
Because it's delicious, duh.
(driving hip hop)
You know, growing up, for me,
these things were like, after school,
"Oh, I'm hungry, mom. I need food."
My mom would sometimes make these,
but it's honestly easier to just go
to a banchan store like this, pick up a couple
that are already fried up and ready to go.
You know, you have a ready-made meal.
This is the perfect Korean after school snack.
(driving hip hop)
(pulsing electronic)
This is how she's going to prep the kimchi right now.
It's sort of like a rice powder.
In a way, she's kind of making a roux here, right?
She's taking flour, water, anchovy broth,
thickening it now.
This is partially why kimchi is not vegan.
When you cook the anchovy broths,
you're developing the flavor,
but when you add the rice flour,
it gives it kind of that richness, the depth.
It kind of softens the kimchi.
Oh man, that smells super strong.
It's been sitting in a salt solution,
basically brining for about six hours,
which is kind of on the shorter side,
but because it's baby napa cabbage, you can do that.
So she's doing a double wash to make sure
that she's kind of rinsing off all that salt from before.
That's how you start making kimchi.
(pulsing electronic)
(foreign speaking)
Wow.
What's immediately gratifying
is how crunchy it is, how fresh.
This stuff really hasn't fermented.
So it's unfermented.
The cabbage is very--
It's still raw and just kind of aching to develop,
but it's still tasty.
What's not obvious is that the
underlying flavor is this anchovy and the shrimp paste.
That gives it a very pleasant, flavorful finish.
(foreign speaking)
(laughing)
(upbeat hip hop)
The reason why Korean food is so unique
is because of banchan.
It's such an important foundation of the cuisine.
You know, with literally like, 12 things
already on the table, you haven't even
got your entrees yet.
Your palette's just getting excited
and you're ready to have a great meal.
(upbeat hip hop)
Whoa.
Just wonderfully fermented.
Not overly so.
Good and balanced with the right acidity and spice.
That's really tasty.
It's not superly meaty.
It's got a lightness to it.
I'm going to try some of this anchovy.
It's almost like the outside has been crystallized.
These things are really nice.
They're a little chewier.
They're not quite as crispy,
but that sweet, spicy glaze on the outside
gives it a nice, extra deliciousness.
Thanks so much for watching.
If you want to see more of my K-Town adventures
in Los Angeles, click right here.