Minari Muchim

Minari (Oenanthe javanica), often called Korean water dropwort or water celery, is a native wetland plant with a clean, peppery, herbal aroma. Its use as food goes back at least to Goryeo: the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture points to a mention of a minari field in the biographies section of the Goryeosa, and the National Folk Museum's encyclopedia notes that minari kimchi was offered at Goryeo royal ancestral rites. In the early seventeenth century, Heo Gyun included minari namul in Domun daejak, his catalog of memorable foods.

Joseon texts record several ways of dressing it. Sallim gyeongje mentions minari dressed with gochujang; Nongjeong hoeyo seasons it with chili powder and soy sauce; and Siuijeonseo gives both a stir-fried version and one boiled and dressed with vinegar. The folk museum's encyclopedia observes that before the 1920s minari was mostly blanched or salted and dressed, while later cookbooks increasingly favored stir-frying. Sweet-sour versions with vinegar and sugar, sometimes with sliced boiled meat, were served in the court and in aristocratic households.

Minari also carries symbolic weight. It was traditionally a symbol of long life: long, uncut blanched stems were placed on a baby's first-birthday table, and minari namul was one of the seasonal foods for the Buddha's birthday on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month.

• A vitamin K–rich spring green: the Korean Food Composition Table lists raw minari at about 187 µg vitamin K and 2.4 g fiber per 100 g, along with carotenoids, potassium and calcium.
• Traditional reputation: minari has long been eaten the day after heavy drinking and paired with fish soups, and Donguibogam describes it as cooling and good for thirst and post-drinking headaches. Laboratory studies of its plant compounds are ongoing, but these traditional uses are not proven treatments.
• Aromatic, not salty: the herb's strong fragrance means the dressing can stay light.

• Sweet-sour gochujang (cho-namul): blanched minari dressed with gochujang, vinegar and sugar, as in this recipe — a style the folk museum's encyclopedia notes is now often made with squid as well.
• Plain seasoned: dressed with soup soy sauce, garlic, green onion and sesame oil to let the herb's aroma come through.
• Court style: blanched minari tossed with stir-fried shredded beef, soy sauce and sesame, finished with threads of dried chili, as recorded from the cook of the last Joseon royal kitchen.
• Cheongdo Hanjae minari: the Hanjae valley in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang, is famous for thick, fragrant spring minari, registered as a geographical indication in 2010; visitors come in spring to buy it and eat it with grilled meat.