Here are some delicious Korean dishes you can make with fresh seasonal vegetables this spring!
It’s late April, but there are still plenty of wonderful spring vegetables to be found at grocery stores and farmers’ markets. My friend was in New York City and saw fresh ramps, young spinach with beautiful purple stems, thin spring onions and even mugwort (ssuk, 쑥) at the Union Square Greenmarket! You might also find dandelion leaves and garlic leaves at your local grocery store or farmer’s market, and everyone should definitely grab some asparagus this time of year!
Spring vegetables are so delicious because they are sweeter and more tender than when they ripen later in the growing season. Consuming these tasty greens in spring also has many health benefits.
Korea has an endless variety of cultivated and wild vegetables that are at their peak at this time of year. One of the reasons why I love visiting Korea in spring! As a small child, I grew up in the countryside not too far from Seoul, with lots of fields and small hills. I have many fond memories of just going to the field with friends and picking all kinds of wild vegetables such as ssuk, (쑥, mugwort), dallae (달래, Korean wild chives), naengi (냉이, shepherd’s purse) etc. We picked them just for fun, but they were made into delicious dishes by our mothers.
Over the years I’ve started growing a few different Korean wild vegetables in my garden. I have harvested them and enjoyed them in many dishes. I hope to tell more about them in the future.
To inspire you, here is a roundup of some of my favorite recipes to enjoy your spring veggies with!
spinach
Spinach (siguemchi, 시금치) is available year-round, but spring spinach is especially tender and flavorful! In Korea, bundles of spinach are usually sold with roots. Both the leaves and stems, including the root crowns, are used in cooking, giving the dish a nice sweet flavor and chewy texture. So, if possible, try to find young spring spinach with its purple root crowns.
Sigeumchi Namul
A simple but very popular side dish! Try the same methods and seasonings with baby cabbage, watercress, snow pea tops, etc.
Siguemchi Doenjang Guk
This spinach soup made with doenjang is a popular soup in Korea, especially in spring. Usually made with anchovy broth, the soup is light and refreshing! My mom sometimes used clams in the soup, that’s how I make them.
dandelion
Dandelion leaves can be quite bitter, but they’re also packed with nutrients! They have been used in herbal medicine in Korea and other Asian countries. Dandelion greens may be available at your Korean markets and even your local grocery stores during spring.
Mindeulle Muchim (dandelion salad)
This slightly spicy, sweet and vinegary salad turns dandelion leaves into a delicious salad. If you can’t find dandelion leaves in your area, this sauce recipe is also great with spring mix, arugula, baby spinach, or crown daisies (ssukgat, 쑥갓). I also make it into a salad with dolnamul (돌나물, stonecrop) that I grow in my garden.
asparagus
You can also get asparagus year-round, but this vegetable really is at its best when it’s in season in spring. You can use it in many Korean recipes like bibimbap, kimbap, for a spring change.
Asparagus with gochujang sauce
Asparagus is also delicious like this banchan dish hot gochujang sauce.
Myulchu kimbap
I used asparagus in this Spicy Anchovy Kimbap, but you can use it in any kimbap recipe.
ramps
Known as wild garlic or wild leeks, they have a mild onion flavor and are more garlicky than spring onions. Each plant has a few flat, broad leaves with a long, reddish stalk with a small round bulb. Ramps are very similar (if not the same) to myeongi namul (명이나물) in Korea, which is enjoyed in many different ways—fresh, boiled, or pickled.
Spring bibimbap with tuna
In this spring bibimbap recipe, I used ramps along with other spring veggies like asparagus and peas. Sometimes I also add some Korean vegetables like minari, buchu and kkaennip. A gochujang sauce is typically used in traditional bibimbap, but a soy sauce-based sauce pairs beautifully with this dish.
Jangajji (pickles)
Ramp season is short so you can also preserve your ramps by pickling them with my Jangajji recipe and enjoy all year round. Great with Korean BBQ!
spring onions (onions)
Pa kimchi
Also, make sure to make this easy Pa kimchi with those spring onions. This pa kimchi goes great with grilled meats like samgyupsal or with kimchi jigae, especially when it gets more acidic. This kimchi is also great in a bowl of instant ramyun.
Prawns and asparagus with spring onions
Tender, thin scallions are called shilpa (실파) in Korean, which means thin as a thread. You can usually get scallions year-round, but when you can find the thin scallions, this shrimp dish will make those veggies stand out (and impress your friends!).
Minari
Known as waterdropwort in the US, minari is a long-stemmed green vegetable with hollow stems and small green leaves with serrated edges. It has a slightly bitter and peppery taste with a sharp, distinctive fresh herbal accent. Minari is a popular herb and vegetable in Korea not only for its taste but also for many health benefits including detoxifying effects.
Minari Jeon
A simple Minari (aka Korean watercress or Korean watercress) savory pancake is a great way to enjoy the vegetable’s distinctive fresh herb flavor.
Garlic scapes
Cloves of garlic (maneuljjong, 마늘쫑) are usually available in late spring and early summer, when the pieces are at their most tender and sweet. Garlic sprouts are the curly flowering shoots/stalks of garlic plants that are cut off to allow the bulbs to grow larger. They have a milder flavor than garlic cloves but are still quite garlicky. When cooked, the scapes become sweeter with a subtle garlic undertone and have a texture similar to thin asparagus.
Fried Garlic Cloves (Maneuljjong Bokkeum)
If you see chunks of garlic at your grocery store, try this easy fried banchan dish.
