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.
Tagrecipe
Recipe: Mu gul-bap (radish oyster rice)
In Korea, a cold winter wind is a sign of many things, but one thing is for sure: Mu (무, Korean radishes) are getting sweeter and tastier, and it’s finally the right season for oysters again.
Recipe: Maneul-jjong bokkeum, sautéed garlic scapes with shrimp
Smack dab in the middle of spring, we find huge bundles of beautiful bright green garlic scapes in the markets. You can pickle them in soy sauce but if you want to enjoy some right away, sautée and serve them as a banchan.
Recipe: Yeolmu kimchi, young radish greens kimchi
Go to any restaurant in Korea during our hot and sweaty summers, and you’re likely to find these lovely greens stems of kimchi on your table.
Recipe: Gang doenjang, doenjang stew reduction
Gang doenjang (강된장) is a kind of reduced bean paste stew that we often eat in summer with steamed summer greens like squash leaves.
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”).
Recipe: Jukkumi sukhoe (parboiled webfoot octopus)
Sukhoe (숙회) refers to a dish of meat, fish or vegetables that are gently parboiled.
Recipe: Minari ganghoe (blanched water dropwort)
Ganghoe (강회, pronounced “gahng-hwae”) is a term for lightly parboiled vegetables like minari or fresh young spring onions, both of which have an unmistakable aroma particularly in the spring.