Early spring brings the anticipation of sansai ¡ª edible wild plants. Two popular sansai to look out for in stores are nanohana (flower buds of the rapeseed plant) and udo (Japanese spikenard).
Related to broccoli, nanohana has a slight bitterness that is typical of spring vegetables, but that flavor turns into sweetness when blanched. It is wonderful when eaten simply with a little soy sauce or mirin, mixed into miso soup or added to a stir-fry. Its tight unopened buds with tender leaves is one of the quintessential signs of spring. In Japanese poetry, nanohana is also a kigo (a word symbolizing a particular season) associated with spring.
Less colorful than nanohana, the young shoots of udo are eaten like white asparagus. The shoots, which grow underground and have yet to penetrate the soil when harvested, also have a crunchy texture and a slightly bitter taste that dissipates when treated with vinegar and blanched.
Nanohana and udo make a classic combination as a side dish to any Japanese meal; serving it with a miso sauce tempered by mustard helps bring out the flavor of nanohana and the texture of udo.
Serves 2 to 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 200 grams udo
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 200 grams nanohana (one packet)
- 1 teaspoon salt
Miso sauce
- 2 tablespoons white miso
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ? tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Japanese mustard
Directions:
- Wash and peel the udo, then slice it lengthwise about 3 millimeters in width. Cut it into 4-centimeter-long pieces and place them in a bowl. Add the vinegar and enough cold water to cover the udo. Let them soak for five minutes.
- Wash the nanohana and cut it into about 5-centimeter-long pieces, dividing the flower buds from the stems, then cutting the stems in half lengthwise. Bring a pot of water to a boil with salt. Add the stems and boil for one to two minutes, then add the flower buds and boil for one minute. Remove the nanohana (keep the water in the pot), cool under them cold running water and squeeze out the water from them.
- Drain the udo from the vinegar water and put them in the pot of water you used to boil the nanohana. Boil for two to three minutes, drain well and cool them under cold running water. Then squeeze out their water.
- Mix the ingredients for the miso sauce until it turns smooth. Arrange the nanohana and udo on serving plates. Spoon the miso sauce over and serve as a side dish for a Japanese meal.
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