Cooking: Saebal, A Versatile New Green

Markets are like candy stores for me so it wasn't a surprise that I spent all of three hours scouring a Korean market that sells everything from produce and cookbooks to slippers and plates.

Anyway, I discovered a new green that looked fascinating called saebal (세발나물), so naturally I bought it.

Thankfully, the packaging suggested I make namul or jeon with it. Namul is an umbrella term that usually refers to a vegetable that's been seasoned either raw or cooked -- in this case, raw. Jeon is a pancake, like the one you see here.

I figured I would split the green into both namul and jeon. However, after I pan-fried some saebal jeon in a batter of water, egg, flour and ready-made jeon powder all seasoned with some salt, it tasted so good I didn't need to make namul.

The saebal jeon was easy to eat (I had chopped the greens into one-inch long strands) and very mild and refreshing in flavor. The jeon was delicate in texture because the greens were very thin. The greens went very nicely with the flour-based batter.

They literally sold like hot cakes once they hit the table.

I had them as namul at a restaurant a few days later, seasoned with nothing but a bit of sesame oil, salt and red pepper flakes. Delicious but not as good as the jeon.



I predict this will soon become a rant of the week where I complain about a lack of fresh greens like these in LA. Stay tuned...