Asatsuki :: Japanese Chive
The thin Japanese chive asatsuki has been used for centuries in Japanese cuisine. It is high in nutrients with a lot of protein, vitamins and calcium. Its leaves have a pleasantly hot, spicy flavour which has long made them prized for use in seasoning dishes. Like negi (welsh onion), it has a strong aroma and a flavour not dissimilar to garlic, and can be used to reduce the odour of raw fish and meat. Asatsuki is also often used as a garnish for hiyayakko (chilled tofu).
Mitsuba :: Japanese Wild Chervil
Mitsuba is a woodland plant which has pleasantly fragrant leaves and seedlings similar to cress. Known as Japanese wild chervil or trefoil, its stems and leaves are chopped, and are used to flavour many dishes such as suimono (clear soup), don-mono (rice dish with toppings in a bowl) and nabe (hot pot). Another way to enjoy mitsuba is in o-hitashi, boiled greens with dashi dressing, chilled and topped with katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes). It is rich in carotene, vitamin C and calcium.
Myoga :: Myoga Ginger
The myoga ginger plant is native to Japan and its unmistakable, sharp taste is found in a wide range of Japanese dishes, particularly in the summer season. Both its shoots and flower buds are edible and are commonly finely sliced and added to season miso soup and sunomono (vinegared dishes). It is also used to add flavour to the refreshing summer dish, somen (chilled noodles). Myoga stimulates the appetite, which makes it ideal for use in starters.
Nira :: Chinese Chive
Stronger in flavour than regular chives, there are a number of varieties of nira commonly used in Japanese cuisine, including green nira (known as garlic chives), yellow nira and hananira, which has a flower bud on top of its stalk. Often used to flavour soup or as a garnish, nira stir-fried with liver is another popular way to enjoy this vegetable. Nira contains high levels of carotene and vitamin E, and also aids the body's absorption of vitamin B1.
Sansai :: Edible Wild Plants
Edible wild plants are widely loved in Japan as they mark the advent of spring. Common examples of sansai include fuki (butterbur), whose scape and leafstalk are used for simmered dishes and soups, and udo, which has a soft edible stalk and belongs to the ginseng family. Two more examples are warabi, the shoot of a kind of fern, and zenmai, another edible fern with distinctive coiled leaves. These vegetables are used in the making of many traditional dishes.
Shiso :: Perilla Leaves
Shiso, the leaves of the perilla plant, are used to add an aromatic finish to cooked food or soups, and tend to be used more sparingly than herbs are in Western cuisine. This popular herb is available in two types: aojiso (green shiso), also called oba, which is used as a garnish for sushi and sashimi and can also be fried to make tempura; and purple-coloured akajiso (red shiso), which is used in umeboshi or as dried flakes to add a savoury flavour to rice.
Takenoko :: Bamboo Shoots
Takenoko (literally, “bamboo child”) are the ivory coloured crisp and tender shoots of bamboo that grow underground. Freshly dug takenoko are sweet in taste, meaning that they can even be eaten raw as takenoko sashimi. However, if they are not absolutely fresh, the bamboo shoots must be boiled to remove their bitter taste. Takenoko is commonly steamed with rice to make takenoko gohan, used to make wakatake soup (soup with wakame seaweed) or kinome ae (with crushed young sansho leaves, miso and vinegar).
