Vegetables

In our household, we eat a lot of fruits and vegetables prepared using Korean seasoning, sauteing, and stir-frying methods. One of the most popular fruits used to make side dishes in South Korea is the ‘gaji,’ otherwise known as Korean Eggplant. Here, we will learn about the Korean eggplant as well as list some dishes that use it as the main ingredient!

Based on my ingredient articles about acorn starch and dandelion greens, you may notice that people in Korea eat ingredients that, though readily available wildly in the United States, we rarely eat. Chrysanthemum greens are no exception! While we enjoy looking at these beautiful flowers during the fall and spring months, people in South Korea also harvest them as a cooking ingredient. In this article, we discuss this ingredient in-depth. Let’s get started! 

As soon as spring arrives, dandelions pop up overnight on your beautifully mowed front lawn. While kids love to make wishes over these little herb plants, you may find them to be an annoyance. Instead of spraying these plants to kill them off, why not eat them? In many food cultures, people use this abundant herb in their cooking. Here, we discuss dandelion greens and how they are used in Korean cooking! Then, we answer some questions you may have about this ingredient. 

Across the countryside of South Korea, beautiful bellflowers grow wildly over the mountainous terrain and cultivated fields. This species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant is native to much of East Asia, including China, North and South Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East. While beautiful in gardens, people in South Korea use this plant as an ingredient in the kitchen. Here, we will learn about the importance of this plant in Korean culture and how they use it in their cuisine. 

Walking through your local farmers’ market, you may have come across a wild-looking bunch of thin, long, and curly bright green stalks. These tangled stalks, more likely than not, are garlic scapes! While rare in most grocery stores in the United States, you will commonly see this ingredient in grocery stores across South Korea. There, people often cook with and eat the mild, slightly sweet garlic scapes when at home. In this ingredient article, we will learn about garlic scapes and how they are used in Korean cooking!