Season of Japanese mountain vegetables

Food as nourishment

Warm hello from rainy Kamikatsu,

Rain is much more frequent these days, though it’s not officially tsuyu the rainy season in Japan. My garden is growing naturally and steadily with the mix of sun and shower. I’m enjoying the seemingly endless bounty of springs vegetables and edible wild plants. 

Kamikatsu in the rain

For those who are new here, welcome. A week ago I was featured on Substacks ‘What to Read’ column and I’ve been overwhelmed by each person who has taken the time to read it—my sincerest thank you. If you haven’t seen it, please do check it out! I replied to the interview questions as thoughtfully and honestly as I could and I’m grateful for a platform to share about what I do.

What to Read: Kana Lauren Chan is sending postcards from a waste-free life in rural Japan

In brief about me, in September of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, I moved to rural Japan. I was graciously accepted by a host family who put a roof over my head and fed me some of the most heartwarming Japanese food I’ve ever eaten. I connected with someone I now consider a best friend and started a small business with her. I had long thought about the potential and pressure of living in Japan and bridging my life with this part of my ethnic heritage. I think many children of immigrant families yearn (particularly in their adult years) to deeply experience their culture as if to fill a hole that has been quietly growing over time.

The village of Kamikatsu is cradled among mountains of cedar trees and filled with an abundance of living things. From birds to bugs, I don’t think I’ve ever lived in a place so alive. I get inspiration from the people in my community, particularly those who live self-sufficient and traditional lifestyles, and I wanted to share this experience and so started a Substacks, aaaand here we are!

I have to admit, I had so few subscribers before the feature that I was shocked when I was contacted by Substacks asking me if I’d be interested to do an interview; I honestly thought it was a scam, but it wasn’t and my heart swells at the thought that I got this unique opportunity.

Nothing will change for those who have been with me this far—I keep telling small, everyday stories from life in Kamikatsu.

Food to nourish

A little while back, my roommate returned to Kamikatsu after spending some time in Tokyo. I usually cook at home most days—happy with our arrangement of cooking and cleaning divided equally. She came home and I cooked a meal I wouldn’t consider special, but she remarked that the food felt nourishing.

One of my favourite words of late has been nourish. Something I’ve been thinking about is why we cook and what we eat. Do we cook to feed, sell, or show off or do we cook to nurture, give, or care as an act of love? Nourishing food leans on the latter ideas tied to food as an act of love. To receive and eat nourishing food is to feel satisfied, not only full.

"There are various reasons we eat. Of course, one is to feed an empty stomach so that we can live another day. But there's also another reason, which is to nourish our heart." —Chef Hisao Nakahigashi

Forage in the mountains

Wonderful, nourishing food starts with the ingredients we cook with. I think that what living in Kamikatsu has taught me is to take in the seasons at the table. I feel like I eat and taste the seasons. The earliest spring gift I received was an abundance of wakame (seaweed), followed by various mountain vegetables and edible plants called sansai. When you eat things in season you get to learn the joy of anticipation and the reward of waiting until things are eaten as they should be eaten.

Sansai ‘mountain vegetables’ are vegetables that grow naturally and are foraged in the wild during the spring. Most of the sansai are endemic or native to Japan and they are foraged almost exclusively in the wild, so they are only available during spring. Having only visited my Japanese relatives during the summer holidays, I had little knowledge about the diversity of flavours of sansai. After a winter of mostly soft and gentle-tasting vegetables, the contrast of bitterness of many sansai is refreshing.

With no experience foraging, I was excited to join a Kamikatsu local to dig, search, and pick various vegetables in the wild. When we first started to search for the bamboo shoots takenoko, we were surprised to see multiple perfectly dug-out holes. We realized we came second to the wild boar who seemed to find the takenoko before us. The takenokos are covered in a slightly fuzzy brown wrap with the point usually a small green leaf, like nature’s pompom on a party hat. Takenokos need to be pulled out of the ground in one swift motion with a kuwa (a Japanese gardening tool). Although we were only able to find two bamboo shoots on that day, I received so many in the coming weeks that I had more than I could have imagined. Once boiled in rice bran, the takenoko becomes edible and you can eat the inner white/yellowish part. We picked a handful of other edible plants.

Some mountain vegetables are best eaten raw, while others require a long soak in ash or a boil in rice bran. Some are most appetizing deep-fried as tempura, while others are dipped in ponzu or topped with Japanese mayo. Some are simmered in stock dashi and served with a generous amount of bonito flakes katsuobushi.

grilled takenoko with sansho leaves

The natural world is a playground for discovery. In the world of food, the mountains are also a reminder that we are given what we need in season and abundance. There is wisdom passed down in the generations of people who learned to forage and find sustenance in the forest. I find myself feeling nourished, full, and fulfilled when I stop to think about nature’s gifts.

If you're curious to check out some common sansai and short recipes, check out this helpful blog post.

You may not be able to forage in the nature around you, but you can marvel at the small wonders of the natural world wherever you are—even the sky above you!

Wishing you a wonderful start to the new week ahead.

With love,
Kana

rooster and chicks headed home to their pen