Make Your Own Dosirak!
“Dosirak” are Korean lunch boxes filled with warm dishes that will make your tummy happy! Whilst lunch boxes are prevalent in different parts of the world like the bento in Japan and tiffin in India, Korea has its own customized version that comes with unique yet easy-to-make dishes.
If you want a healthy array of dishes to-go or just easy Korean recipes, you’ve come to the right place! Wear your apron and grab the kimchi because here we go!
A typical dosirak usually comes with a big portion of cooked rice, otherwise called “bap,” along with several banchan (side dishes). We’ve got the rice part covered because Korean convenience stores have ready-to-eat packets! Heat it up in the microwave and you are good to go!
BANCHAN
- Gimbap (김밥)
How can we make a dosirak without one of the most popular Koran dishes? Gimbap is an amalgamation of rice, seaweed, vegetables and meat. This dish involves carefully putting all the cooked ingredients together into a perfect seaweed roll. To get everything ready, fry vegetables and meat of your choice into a pan and get the rice ready.
Once everything is made, place the seaweed roll on the bamboo mat and add a thin layer of rice. Make sure that the seaweed has its shiny side on the bottom because that will be the outer layer!
Start adding the vegetables and meat on one side. After all the ingredients of your choice are in the gimbap, roll it carefully using the bamboo mat to get a long roll. All that is left to do is to cut the gimbap into small pieces, and there you have it!
- Haemul Jeon (해물전) - Seafood Pancake
Look out because this savoury pancake can be devoured in minutes! What makes this recipe great is that once you learn the basics, you can add any ingredients to make it customized!
While you can get ready-made pancake batter, homemade batter is also easy to make. Add flour, potato starch, green onions, carrot, egg, fish sauce, salt, black pepper, and sesame oil along with your seafood — which can be shrimp, clams or squid — and mix it well. Pour a little bit of the batter in the frying pan, and fry until it is well-cooked and brown in colour. Viola! You have your pancake ready!
- Gyeran Mari (계란말이)- Rolled Omelette
Omelettes never go out of style. Whether you have it with bread or rice, it will treat your stomach right! All you need is eggs, vegetables and a rectangular frying pan. The trick to making a rolled omelette is to pour your egg batter in parts. After mixing your egg batter with vegetables of your choice, pour a thin layer of the batter to your heated pan and role it like a normal omelette. While that is slowly cooking, add another layer and roll it again. Repeat the process until the batter is all used up.
You can now cut the omelette into bite-sized pieces and add them to your dosirak!
- Pan-Fried Tofu
Although tofu can be eaten on its own deliciously, pan-fried tofu is a classic dosirak dish enjoyed by many. Cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces and fry it for a couple of minutes until it is slightly brown in color. By just doing this, you have nearly finished the preparation of this dish!
To complete it, we need to add the seasoning sauce which is equally easy to make: Mix soy sauce, green onion, minced garlic, sugar, sesame oil and pepper flakes; and add it to the already-fried tofu!
- Japchae (잡채)- Korean Glass Noodles
Whether you have this dish as it is or add it as banchan, it will be delicious. Japchae is one of many traditional noodle dishes in Korea. Not only is this dish simple-to-make, but it also won’t take you much time. Filled with several vegetables like onion, carrots, scallions, and spinach, it fulfills all the nutrition groups!
While the ingredients are prepared separately, all of them are mixed at the end to get the perfect taste! Cut the vegetables into thin slices, preferably of the same length and fry them in oil over medium heat until they are cooked. Meanwhile, boil your potato starch noodles for 5–6 minutes and stir fry it with your japchae sauce! In addition to the vegetables, you can choose a protein of your choice and fry it the same way as the vegetables.
The japchae sauce can be made simply by mixing soy sauce, sugar, minced garlic, sesame oil, and garlic. By mixing all the cooked ingredients together, you have yourself a well-made japchae!
With these simple recipes, we hope you get started on your Kitchen adventures at home and have a well cooked meal! For more recipes of Korean cuisine, visit https://www.maangchi.com/.
What is your favourite Korean dish? Tell us in the comments below!
Written by Sayantani Banerjee
