Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2012

As the mountain snow melts, the first veggies in town are the sansai (mountain vegetables). The lifespan of these 200 varieties is short, so enjoy while you can. Tempura is a typical cooking method, especially to mask some varieties’ bitterness. Other styles include ohitashi (simmered), sunomono (vinegared), aemono (dressed in sauce), and kinpira (julienned and stir-fried). To cook at home, look for pre-boiled packs. Drain the water and place atop a bowl of soba or udon. Alternatively, add to the pot before steaming your rice. Replace some of the water with a few tablespoons of sake and soy sauce and add a generous pinch of salt. Cook the rice as usual. The resulting sansai gohan tastes like a walk in the woods.

Star veg

• Asatsuki asatsuki chives
• Fuki Japanese butterbur
• Fuki no to butterbur unopened bud
• Katakuri dog’s tooth violet
• Kogomi fiddlehead of ostrich fern
• Nobiru red garlic
• Seri water dropwort
• Tara no me angelica tree shoot
• Tsukushi field horsetail shoot
• Warabi bracken
• Yomogi mugwort
• Zenmai royal fern