Minari (water dropwort)

Minari is Java water dropwort (Oenanthe javanica), a perennial of the carrot family (Apiaceae) that grows in wet ground and shallow water. It is native to Korea and is found across East and Southeast Asia, from Sakhalin and Japan to China, India and Java. Older names include suyeong and sugeunchae.

It is one of the oldest documented Korean vegetables. Goryeosa, the official history of the Goryeo dynasty, mentions a minari field, and in the Goryeo period minari kimchi was offered at the royal ancestral shrine. The word minari is already recorded in the 1527 character primer Hunmongjahoe, and Joseon farming and cookery books describe planting it where water is plentiful and blanching the young stems whole. In folk custom, long, uncut stems were set on a child's first-birthday table as a wish for long life.

Traditionally, minari was grown in flooded paddies called minari-kkwang and was for a long time one of the few fresh greens available in winter. Paddy minari is planted in late summer and harvested from about November through March; field and hydroponic methods developed from the mid-1980s extend the season. North Jeolla and South Gyeongsang were long the main producing regions, and branded crops such as Hanjae minari from Cheongdo, grown with pumped groundwater in greenhouses, are well known. Wild dol-minari from streamsides is prized for a stronger aroma.

In the kitchen minari is blanched for namul, added raw to kimchi for its cool fragrance, eaten in wraps and fresh salads, and considered almost essential in fish stews, hot pots and puffer-fish soup, where its aroma helps mask fishiness. For minari-ganghoe, blanched stems are wound around small stacks of sliced meat, egg garnish and chili threads.

Because paddy-grown minari can harbor leeches, cooks have long been careful to soak and wash it thoroughly; one old trick was to leave the bunch in water with a brass spoon so the leeches would let go and sink.

• Leafy green: Per the Korean Food Composition Table, raw minari is a rich source of vitamin K and also provides vitamin A (as beta-carotene), folate and potassium.
• Traditional beliefs: Korean folk medicine has long regarded minari as cooling, cleansing and good for recovering after drinking; compounds such as persicarin and isorhamnetin are being studied, but these remain traditional beliefs rather than established effects.
• Wash thoroughly: Paddy-grown minari can carry leeches and soil, so soak it and rinse it well, stem by stem, before eating, especially raw.
• Not a plant to forage casually: Edible minari is a different species from hemlock water dropwort (Oenanthe crocata) and from water hemlock (Cicuta virosa), two wetland relatives that are among the most poisonous plants known and have killed foragers who mistook them for edible herbs. Buy minari from a trusted grower or market rather than picking wild wetland plants.
• Vitamin K and warfarin: People taking warfarin are advised to keep their intake of vitamin K–rich greens consistent and to talk with their doctor before changing their diet.