I love all of the bomnamul (봄나물, spring greens) that come out in the markets after winter: There are so many, and they’re all so fresh and delicious.
Tagnamul
Recipe: Ssuk gae-tteok, mugwort rice cake
Gae-tteok (개떡) is an easy rice cake made with fragrant green herbs.
Recipe: Tangpyeongchae, mung bean jelly salad
It’s not a well-known fact that tangpyeongchae (탕평채, mung bean jelly salad) is a traditional food for Ipchun (입춘), the first day of spring.
Hamcho: Samphire, glasswort, sea asparagus
Travel along the southwest coast in summer and you may come across a bright green, succulent-like plant stretching upwards like a tiny tree from the mudflat. This is hamcho (함초, samphire or glasswort, Salicornia herbacea),
Dureup, the king of spring: Aralia elata shoots
One of the last spring greens to grace the markets each year is dureup (두릅, Aralia elata shoots), a mildly bitter and fragrant vegetable.
Recipe: Dureup sukhoe, blanched Aralia shoots
A simple and delicious way to eat dureup (두릅, Aralia shoots) is sukhoe (숙회, blanching or parboiling, pronounced “sook-hwae”).
10 Korean spring greens you should know
For those of us who’ve grown up abroad, shopping at Korean grocery stores can be both a beautiful and bewildering experience. What is this root? This tangle of leaves? How can I make it delicious?
Recipe: Ssuk-guk (mugwort soup)
About a year ago, we took a trip down to Silsang Temple, where we ran into some ladies trimming greens near the kitchen.
Recipe: Naengi-guk (shepherd’s purse soup)
Koreans think of naengi as the first ingredient to come into season in the spring, and naengi-guk (냉이국, shepherd’s purse soup) is one of the most common ways to eat it.