{"id":6340,"date":"2016-08-22T14:11:41","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T12:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.edimentals.com\/blog\/?p=6340"},"modified":"2018-08-05T15:08:09","modified_gmt":"2018-08-05T13:08:09","slug":"shidoke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.edimentals.com\/blog\/?p=6340","title":{"rendered":"Shidoke"},"content":{"rendered":"

On my trip to Japan in spring 2016, I found shidoke (\u30b7\u30c9\u30b1 \/ Parasenecio delphiniifolia<\/em> syn. Cacalia delphiniifolia<\/em>) leaves on sale in a supermarket in Ueda, Japan. This is the only place I saw it during my 3 week visit to Japan, so not one of the most popular sansai or wild mountain vegetables. I\u2019ve been growing this plant for a few years now in a very shady spot in the garden and it\u2019s just come into flower which prompted this post. It\u2019s a great woodland ornamental grown for its leaves and an unusual forest garden edimental. It is also known as momijigasa (\u30e2\u30df\u30b8\u30ac\u30b5) which translates as \u201cmaple umbrella\u201d due to the similarity of the leaves to Acer palmatum<\/em>. It resembles yaburegasa (Syneilesis palmata<\/em>) meaning \u201ctorn umbrella\u201d. I didn\u2019t see shidoke in the wild, but I did see yaburegasain in one place on the Izu peninsula. Both of these plants in the Asteraceae have edible young shoots, although shidoke is the preferred one. I bought a packet in that supermarket and my friends Ken and Masami who we visited that night were kind enough to prepare it as tempura! It is apparently pleasant tasting raw, but is most often cooked and served with a little soy sauce and roasted sesame seed once cool. Shidoke contains antioxidants that have been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
\nSee also\u00a0http:\/\/www.edimentals.com\/blog\/?p=6357<\/a> (Visit to Ken and Masami) and this blog post on FB at\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?set=a.10154213988935860.1073742705.655215859&type=1&l=eb0bc1fced<\/a><\/p>\n