[Spring Is Tasty! – Edible Wild Plants] – Part 2: Tarano-me | KAGOSHIMA Visitors' GUIDE

“Spring Is Tasty” series 2!

We featured Fukinotou (Butterbur scape) in the last article. This time, we feature “Tarano-me (Aralia Sprouts) which is called the king of edible wild plants!

Tarano-me (Aralia Sprouts / たらのめ / タラノメ / たらの芽)

[Basic Information]
Tara tree (Aralia elata) is a small upright deciduous tree or shrub up to 5m in height, native to eastern Russia, China, Korea, and Japan. In Japan it is known as tara-no-ki, and in Korea, it is known as dureup namu (두릅나무). It prefers deep loamy soils in partial shade, but will grow in poorer soils and in full sun. The plant is sometimes cultivated, often in a variegated form, for its exotic appearance.
The bark is rough and gray with prickles.
In Japan, the shoots are eaten in the spring. They are picked from the end of the branches and are fried in a tempura batter.

Good season to pick: March ~ April
Where to look for: Sunny fields or woods
Size: 3 m ~ 5 m
Shape of blades: alternate, large, 60-120 cm long, and double pinnate

[How to Eat]
Tempura
Tarano-me with ground sesame seed and soy sauce
soup
Fry in butter
Boiled tarano-me with mayonnaise
*To rid of sheath from tarano-me, wash them and put them in a bowl of water. If you feel it is too bitter, add some baking soda in the water.

[Recommend recipe]
Rolled Tarano-me in Bacon
Ingredients
◎Tarano-me
◎Bacon
◎Salt and pepper
◎Olive oil

How to Cook
1. Boil tarano-me without sheath.
2. Roll boiled tarano-me in bacon.
3. Put salt and pepper on the rolled tarano-me in bacon.
4. Fry the rolled tarano-me and bacon with olive oil.

Category : text @en

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