Here are some delicious Korean dishes you can make with fresh seasonal vegetables this spring!
Spring is here! There are many wonderful spring vegetables available at grocery stores and farmers markets. Look for fresh ramps, young spinach with beautiful purple stems, spindly spring shallots, and even mugwort (ssukok)! You may also find dandelion leaves and garlic stalks at your local grocery store or farmers market, and everyone should definitely get some asparagus this time of year!
Spring greens are so delicious because they are sweeter and more tender than when they ripen later in the growing season. Eating these tasty vegetables in spring also has many health benefits.
In Korea, there are an endless number of different cultivated and wild vegetables that reach their peak at this time of year. One of the reasons I love visiting Korea in spring! As a 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 going to the fields with friends and picking all kinds of wild vegetables such as ssuk, (쑥, mugwort), dallae (right, Korean wild chives), naengi (shepherd’s purse, Shepherd’s purse), etc. We collected them for fun, but our mothers transformed them into delicious dishes.
Over the years I have started growing a few different wild Korean vegetables in my garden. I have collected and enjoyed them in many dishes. I hope to share more about them in the future.
To inspire you, here’s a roundup of some of my favorite recipes you can make to enjoy spring vegetables!
Spinach
Spinach (sigeumchi, 시금치) is available year-round, but spring spinach is especially tender and flavorful! In Korea, bunches of spinach are usually sold with the roots attached. Both the leaves and stems, including root crowns, are used in cooking, which gives the dish a pleasant sweet flavor and chewy texture. So, try to find young spring spinach with its purple-red root crowns if you can.
1. Sigeumchi Namul
A simple but much appreciated side dish! Try the same methods and seasonings with kale, watercress, snow peas, etc.
2. The Guk of the Sixth Gate
This doenjang-based spinach soup is a popular soup in Korea, especially in spring. Usually made with anchovy broth, the soup is light and refreshing! My mother sometimes used clams in the soup, and that’s how I make it.
Plus, spring spinach is delicious in kimbap and bibimbap.
Dandelion
Dandelion leaves can be quite bitter, but they are also packed with nutrients! They have been used in herbal medicine in Korea and other Asian countries. Dandelion greens may be available in your Korean markets and even your local grocery stores in the spring.
3. 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 dip recipe is also great with spring mix, arugula, baby spinach, or margherita corona (ssukgat, 쑥갓). I also use it to make a salad with dolnamul (돌나물, borracina) I grow in my garden.
Asparagus
Asparagus can also be found all year round, but this vegetable is truly best when it’s in season, in spring. You can use it in many Korean recipes such as bibimbap and kimbap. as well as the following recipes.
4. Asparagus with Gochujang Sauce
Plus, asparagus is as delicious as this banchan dish spicy gochujang sauce.
5. Myulchu kimbap
I used asparagus in this spicy anchovy kimbap, but you can use it in any kimbap recipe.
Watercress
Watercress is rich in many important nutrients such as important vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin K. I love its slightly bitter, spicy and peppery taste.
6. Namul cress
Watercress namul is prepared much like siguemchi (spinach) namul: blanched and seasoned with a few basic ingredients. When lightly cooked, watercress has that crunchy, chewy texture that Korean namul is known for.
Ramps
Known as wild garlic or wild leek, they have a mild onion flavor and are more garlicky than shallots. Each plant has a pair flat, broad leaves with a long reddish stem with a small round bulb. Ramps are very similar (if not the same) as myeongi namul (명이나물) in Korea, which is enjoyed in many different ways: fresh, cooked, or pickled.
7. Spring bibimbap with tuna
In this spring bibimbap recipe I used rampettes along with other spring vegetables such as asparagus and peas. Sometimes I also add some Korean vegetables like minari, buchu and kkaennip. A gochujang sauce is usually used in traditional bibimbap, but a soy sauce-based sauce works wonderfully well with this dish.
8. Jangajji (vegetable pickles)
The ramp season is short, so you can also preserve your ramps by pickling them with my jangajji recipe and enjoy them throughout the year. Great with Korean BBQ!
Green onions (scallions)
You can use any type of shallot for these dishes, but thin, spring-like shallots like jjokpa (쪽파) and silpa (실파) are especially delicious.
9. Pa kimchi
Also, make sure you keep it simple pa kimchi with those spring green onions. This pa kimchi goes great with any grilled meat, such as samgyupsal, or added to kimchi jigae, especially when it becomes more sour. This kimchi is also great in a bowl of instant ramyun.
10. Haemul Pajeon (scallion pancake)
You can make pajeon with any type of shallot, but thin, spring shallots like jjokpa (쪽파) and silpa (실파) are great for pajeon as they are sweet and tender.
11. Shrimp and asparagus tied with green onion
Tender, thin green onions called shilpa (실파) in Korean, which means thin as a thread. You can usually get scallions year-round, but if you can find thin green onion, this shrimp dish will highlight this vegetable (and impress your friends!).
to pain
Known as water dropwort in the United States, 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 strong and characteristic accent of fresh herbs. Minari is a popular herb and vegetable in Korea not only for its flavor but for its many health benefits, including detoxifying effects.
12. Minari Jeon
A simple Korean savory pancake made with minari (aka water dropwort or Korean watercress) is a great way to enjoy the vegetable’s distinctive fresh herb flavor.
Onion
Onions (yangpa, 양파) are versatile and available year-round. However, when spring arrives, freshly harvested onions are tender and sweet. It’s the best time to make kimchi with them.
13. Kimchi Yangpa (onion).
Garlic scapes
Garlic scapes (maneuljjong, 마늘쫑) are usually available in late spring and early summer, when the scapes are at their most tender and sweet. Garlic scapes are the curly flowering shoots/stalks of garlic plants that are cut back to allow the bulbs to grow larger. They have a milder flavor than garlic cloves but are still quite garlicky. Once cooked, the scapes become sweeter with a slight undertone of garlic and have a texture similar to that of thin asparagus.
14. Stir-fried Garlic Scapes (Maneuljjong Bokkeum)
If you see garlic scapes in your grocery store, try this simple stir-fried banchan dish. 
15. Maneuljjong Muchim (Spicy Garlic Scapes)
For this recipe, blanch the scapes in boiling water. Blanching brings out the slightly sweet flavor of the garlic and tenderizes the scapes. After rinsing them in cold water and draining them, mix them with some basic ingredients for the seasoning.
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This list has been updated for 2023 with more recipes.
