Japanese Spikenard

I tried to come up with a clever pun for the title of this post, but failed miserably. It’s sad because this is such an awesome plant that I managed to get a hold of here in the United States. Japanese Spikenard (Aralia Cordata), also known as Yama Udo (mountain asparagus), is a delightful perennial. Considered a wild sansai (mountain vegetable) it is foraged for its shoots that come up every spring. Despite being able to reach impressive heights and widths, it is not a tree and will die back to the ground every year.

It fares well in shade or sun, but does require frequent watering especially if grown in the sun. Most people stick this plant in a deeply shady corner where not much else will grow. It’s most commonly seen as an ornamental in the US, but should be recognized for its uses as a food crop.

I haven’t tried it myself yet, as I just got it into the ground this year. However, once established, it will come back year after year. I suppose the English translation of “mountain asparagus” is due to the thick, stalk nature of its shoots. Some people describe its flavor as “resinous” (doesn’t sound good) and others describe it like “fennel” (which does sound good.) Some people say it is bitter–but considering most of Asia treats bitter vegetables as delicacies, so if it is (and few sources mention it) I don’t think it should impede my enjoyment of it.

Grilled, steamed, boiled, tempura–almost every recipe I see calls for it to be cooked (to reduce the natural flavor) but there are other sources saying it can be used raw to add flavor. I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t say which way is best, but next spring I’ll definitely give an update.