Walking past the Udo (Aralia cordata) patch yesterday morning I noticed that the shoots had outgrown their bucket and, as usual, had thrown the bucket down the hill, eager for some sunshine. Sad for it, its effort was in vain as they were bound for the kitchen! Here’s an album of pictures showing how I prepared the udo salad.
I alsø blanced Arali racemosa for the first time, but haven’t tried it yet…
The bucket of cordata let some light in at the top, so the shoots were greener than for A. racemosa
Aralia cordata with ostrich fern, blanched and unblanched shoots
Aralia racemosa, blanched and unblanched shoots
Aralia racemosa and Aralia cordata
Peeled udo shoots
Peeled and sliced udo shoots
Udo salad with a dressing of roasted sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper! My least diverse salad of season 2018 so far!
On my trip to Japan in spring 2016, I found shidoke (シドケ / Parasenecio delphiniifolia syn. Cacalia delphiniifolia) 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’ve been growing this plant for a few years now in a very shady spot in the garden and it’s just come into flower which prompted this post. It’s a great woodland ornamental grown for its leaves and an unusual forest garden edimental. It is also known as momijigasa (モミジガサ) which translates as “maple umbrella” due to the similarity of the leaves to Acer palmatum. It resembles yaburegasa (Syneilesis palmata) meaning “torn umbrella”. I didn’t 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.
See also http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?p=6357 (Visit to Ken and Masami) and this blog post on FB at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154213988935860.1073742705.655215859&type=1&l=eb0bc1fced
Shidoke leaves in my garden
Flowering shidoke
Flowering shidoke
Flowering shidoke
Shidoke in a Japanese supermarket
Supermarket shidoke
Preparing supermarket shidoke for tempura
Tempuraed shidoke together with very popular (particularly kids) tsukushi, Equisetum arvense
Yaburegasa (Syneilesis palmata) in the wild on the Izu peninsula, Japan
Yaburegasa (Syneilesis palmata) in the wild on the Izu peninsula, Japan
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
