Weed Salad?

Sometimes I feel like I’m walking into a produce section in outer space here in Seoul. What would you do if you saw weeds being sold in the vegetable aisle? Buy them, that’s what!

When I got home, I had to do a quick search to figure out just what this plant was. I wouldn’t have recognized it as edible, but here we are: a young root with shoots, sitting on my cutting board. I would’ve tossed it in my compost bin, but they package this stuff and sell it for cold hard cash.

What I discovered was that I had naengyi (냉이), a young horseradish, on my counter. I immediately thought S-P-I-C-Y; the type that shoots up your nose and makes you cry. I wouldn’t want to eat a plateful of it. But maybe young horseradish will be different.

I didn’t know where to start in cooking it. I thought about just stir-frying in oil and salt, to keep it simple, but the roots looked tough. I made a second quick search online, and found naengyi muchim (냉이무침), a type of side dish. It looked easy enough. Blanch for 3‒4 minutes, strain, chop, toss with seasonings. Voilà!

There wasn’t even a hint of spice in the final dish. It was fibrous, but that didn’t detract from the experience. A mild and unique flavor. The sesame and perilla oil complemented the woodsy taste. I didn’t know weeds could taste this good!

It makes me wonder what other wondrous edible plants we’re missing out on. How many flavors have I not tasted? It’s unfortunate that there isn’t more variety in American grocery stores.