Shepherd’s purse (냉이) is everywhere, and it’s early leaf shape is easy to mistake for a common dandelion. It lacks the milky liquid of the dandelion, and has a distinctive flower and seedpod, the latter from which it derives its name. Although it’s often maligned as a prolific weed, it’s a primary ingredient in one of the many delicious Korean seasoned herb dishes (냉이 나물 무짐). You can pick it yourself all over the mountains and fields, or pick it up at the store when its in season.
Delicious as a seasoned dish
A namul muchim (seasoned herb) is a simple dish that can consist of various foraged plants, herbs, or roots. It’s then seasoned according to taste and purpose. Our experience is that these seasoned, foraged dishes are always refreshing and have a satisfying crunch and savory flavor. As a side dish they add flavor, texture, and dense nutrients and minerals to a meal. Here’s a link to a recipe with plenty of pictures to make it easy to follow.
In the field and garden
From a gardener’s perspective, it’s a weed. It has many names in many languages because it can be found around the world. One name is “mother’s heart” because of the shape of the seedpods.
What we didn’t know until doing a little research for this post, is that it has been found to be “protocarnivorous.” What that means is that it can trap or kill insects or other animals, but cannot consume or digest them directly. Kind of like an evolutionary step toward becoming carnivorous, which is super fascinating! Specifically, shepherd’s purse seeds contain mucilage, a substance that can trap nematodes. We don’t know a lot about this particular function or the associated research, but hope to learn more or even test this ourselves.
Next time you’re out and about, take a look and see if you can find yourself some shepherd’s purse. We’d love to hear where you find it or what other uses it may have! If you’d like to read more from this series, check out Right Under Your Nose – 고들빼기.