Lamb s Quarters side dish (Myeongajunamul: 명아주나물)

http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/myeongaju-muchim Check out the written recipe, ingredient photos, and tips. Lamb s quarters grow wild and are called "Myeongaju" (명아주) in Korea, where they are foraged in the mountains and fields in the spring. You can probably guess how excited I was to see these mountain vegetables growing in Inwood Park in Manhattan! I ve seen them in Central Park, too. So I picked some young leaves and brought them home to cook for dinner. The best time to forage for Lamb s quarters is in the spring. I found them in the early summer, and they were still good to eat but I could only pick the youngest leaves from the top. They are so soft in the spring you can eat the whole plant, including the stems, but by the fall the stems are so strong that Koreans make canes from them! If foraging is too much work for you, you might be able to find them for sale at your local farmer s market. If you can t find them anywhere, don t worry. Just replace the lamb s quarters in this recipe with some other green vegetable like napa cabbage, Bok Choy, sweet potato stems, spinach, Chinese broccoli, or chards. In this recipe I use doenjang as a key ingredient, but you could also use soy sauce. The seasoning paste in this recipe will lead to your irresistible satisfaction! Enjoy the recipe!