Shortlist of Sansai 山菜

SANSAI (Mountain Vegetables) 山菜

There are over 200 varieties of sansai, the mountain vegetables that spring forth from the ground in the spring. When sansai arrive at the market, you can overhear customers talk about the arrival of spring. It is served many ways including ohitashi (simmered), sunomono (vinegared), tempura, aemono (dressed with a sauce), and kinpira (julienned and stir-fried). Over a bowl of soba noodles the bitterness of the sansai is a nice contrast to the earthy buckwheat noodles. There is something special about the bitter vegetables when served up in tempura.

Here is a shortlist of some popular sansai:
あさつき 　　　Asatsuki – asatsuki chives
ふき 　　　　　Fuki – Japanese butterbur
ふきのとう 　　Fuki no to – unopened bud of Japanese butterbur
片栗 　　　　　Katakuri – dog’s tooth violet
こごみ 　　　　Kogomi – fiddlehead of ostrich fern
のびる 　　　　Nobiru – red garlic
せり 　　　　　Seri – water dropwort
たらの芽 　　　Tara no me – shoot of the angelica tree
つくし 　　　　Tsukushi – field horsetail shoot
ウド 　　　　　Udo - udo
わらび 　　　　Warabi - bracken
よもぎ 　　　　Yomogi - mugwort
ぜんまい 　　　Zenmai – royal fern