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.
Tagseafood
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: Ganjang gaejang (soy sauce marinated raw crab)
There’s a reason why ganjang gaejang (간장게장) is one of the side dishes we call 밥도둑 (bap doduk), or “rice thief” in Korean.
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: Lazy-ass refrigerator soup stock
Sometimes when you’re busy, you just don’t have time to boil up a new batch of soup stock.
Six Korean spring clams
Spring brings all kinds of good things to the fish market, and one of these is the bounty of fresh clams.
Recipe: Meonggae bibimbap
There are all kinds of bibimbap, but meonggae (멍게, sea pineapple) bibimbap in particular makes a great lunch for sleepy spring days.
Meonggae: Sea pineapple
You may have seen this grenade-shaped creature, a fiery-red sunset color, floating around in tanks at seafood restaurants and fish markets starting in spring.
Jukkumi: Webfoot octopus
When the breezes begin to lose their winter bite, usually in March here in Korea, we start talking about jukkumi (주꾸미, webfoot octopus).