Kimberly Matsuno (Niigata)
The sight of young mountain vegetables slowly peeking out of the last remaining piles of snow is a classic scene promising the coming of spring. However, perhaps one of the most amusing sights of the season is watching whole families, touting plastic bags, crouched over along roadsides picking said mountain vegetables. These mountain vegetables, collectively called “sansai” in Japanese, are not only harbingers of spring but are also nutrient-packed ingredients that are thought to be full of medicinal properties. Distinctly earthy and often bitter, sansai are featured in many springtime Japanese dishes ranging from the humblest of shojin-ryouri (Buddhist cooking) to the fanciest kaiseki-ryouri (Japanese multi-course meals). Sansai can be eaten raw, sauteed, braised, boiled, or battered and fried. And with over 300 different varieties of sansai, the possibilities are endless.
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