Mountain Vegetable 山菜

Mountain Vegetables are our springtime gifts from the mountains. After the snow melts, various kinds of mountain vegetables come out one after the other: fukinotou (Japanese butterbur flower buds), taranome (buds of the Japanese angelica-tree), kogomi (buds of ostrich fern), kinome (akebi vine), zenmai (royal fern), warabi (bracken) and so on.

Zenmai (royal fern)

People pick them and enjoy eating them in various ways. Depends on the kind of vegetable, they make tempura (butter-fried), mix it with sesame after boiling it or eat it with mayonnaise like a salad and so on.

Tempura / sesami flavor / miso (soybean paste) and vinegar flavor / sweet soy source flavor

Mountain vegetables are the new buds of wild plants, so some of them are somewhat bitter. People enjoy the mildly bitter taste and it refreshes our bodies after a long winter. Growing after winter’s snow makes mountain vegetables more delicious!

Zenmai needs lots of work before eating!

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