Korean · side

Gosari Namul (Seasoned Bracken Fern Shoots)

Gosari Namul (Seasoned Bracken Fern Shoots) reads salinity 5.6, allium 5.1 and nutty 4.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Korean side, about 11 hr 52 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Salinity 5.6 · Allium 5.1 · Nutty 4.9 · Umami 4.1 · Richness 3.6 · Herbaceous 2.5 · Funk & Ferment 2.5 · Earthy 1.3 · Warm Spice 1.1 · Sweetness 0.8 · Bitterness 0.6

What's in it (10)

Time & effort: about 11 hr 52 min (3 hr 52 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 7.5 kcal, 0.1 g protein, 0.7 g fat, 0.2 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

  1. Soak the dried gosari in plenty of cold water overnight, at least 8 hours. It will swell to three times its weight and go from brittle brown to pliable olive.
  2. Drain, then boil the shoots in fresh water for 30 to 40 minutes, until a piece squashes easily between finger and thumb, and drain again. Leave them in cold water for another 2 to 3 hours, changing it once. Both the long boil and the soak matter: bracken contains ptaquiloside, and boiling followed by soaking is the traditional Korean preparation that removes the bitterness and the compound with it. Never eat gosari raw or lightly cooked.
  3. Squeeze the shoots dry and cut them into 6 cm lengths, discarding any hard stem ends that stayed woody.
  4. Warm the perilla oil in a pan over medium heat and add the gosari with the garlic and guk-ganjang. Stir-fry 3 minutes, until the shoots smell nutty and take on the colour of the soy.
  5. Pour in the broth, cover, and cook 5 to 7 minutes over low heat until the liquid is gone and the shoots are silky and yielding rather than springy. Season with the salt.
  6. Off the heat, toss with the sesame oil, scallions and crushed sesame seeds. Perilla oil, not sesame, is the traditional oil for mountain vegetables in Korea, and its grassy bitterness is the right partner for fern. Gosari namul is one of the fixed components of a proper bibimbap and one of the dishes cooked for the ancestral rites, and it is the reason a Korean pantry has a bag of dried mountain greens in it.
  7. Substitutions: water can stand in for the anchovy-kelp broth.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.