When I was working for Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City, I used to slice and deep fry lotus roots to be used as garnishes. Whenever I made these I couldn’t stop thinking about the salty and sweet soy sauce braised lotus root banchan in Korea.
Tagroots
Yeongeun: Lotus root
The lotus is a lovely plant, and in Korea every single part of it has a purpose.
Ueong: Burdock root
Ueong (우엉, pronounced ooh-ung) is known as burdock root in English, and can be found in temperate zones around the world.
Recipe: Ueong jorim (soy sauce braised burdock root)
This is the most common way to prepare ueong (우엉, burdock root) in Korea.
Goddeulbbaegi: The bitter old man of the vegetable world
Of all the vegetables in the traditional Korean diet, godeulbbaegi (고들빼기, Crepidiastrum sonchifolium) is the most intensely bitter.
Recipe: Godeulbbaegi muchim (godeulbbaegi blanched salad)
Godeulbbaegi’s bitterness is tempered when blanched and dressed with doenjang.
Recipe: Deodeok gui (grilled deodeok)
This version of deodeok gui is based on my mom’s recipe.
Recipe: Doraji namul (sautéed doraji)
Doraji namul (도라지나물, sautéed balloon flower root) can be slightly sweet, and have ever so slight of a sharp, bitter aftertaste.
Doraji: A bittersweet root
There’s an old song in Korean about doraji (도라지, bellflower root).