Namul ( ko, 나물) refers to either a variety of edible grass or leaves or seasoned herbal dishes made of them. Wild greens are called ''san-namul'' (, "mountain namul"), and spring vegetables are called ''bom-namul'' (, "spring namul"). On the day of

Daeboreum Daeboreum (대보름; literally "Great Full Moon") is a Korean holiday that celebrates the first full moon of the new year of the lunar Korean calendar which is the Korean version of the First Full Moon Festival. This holiday is accompanied by m ...

, the first full moon of the

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...

, Koreans eat ''boreum-namul'' (, "full moon namul") with five-grain rice. It is believed that boreum namuls eaten in winter help one to withstand the heat of the summer to come.

Preparation and serving

For namul as a dish, virtually any type of vegetable, herb, or green can be used, and the ingredient includes roots, leaves, stems, seeds, sprouts, petals, and fruits. Some seaweeds and mushrooms, and even animal products such as beef

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

s are also made into namuls. Although in most cases the vegetables (and non-vegetable namul ingredients) are blanched before being seasoned, the method of preparation can also vary; they may be served fresh (raw), boiled, fried, sautéed, fermented, dried, or steamed. Namul can be seasoned with salt, vinegar,

sesame oil Sesame oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seeds. The oil is one of the earliest-known crop-based oils. Worldwide mass modern production is limited due to the inefficient manual harvesting process required to extract the oil. O ...

and

perilla oil Perilla oil ( ''Deulgireum'') is an edible vegetable oil derived from perilla seeds. Having a distinct nutty aroma and taste, the oil pressed from the toasted perilla seeds is used as a flavor enhancer, condiment, and cooking oil in Korean cuisine. ...

, regular

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

and

soup soy sauce ''Guk-ganjang'' ( ko, 국간장) or soup soy sauce is a type of Korean soy sauce (''ganjang'') made entirely of fermented soybeans (''meju'') and brine. It is also a byproduct of ''doenjang'' production. Both lighter in colour and saltier than o ...

doenjang ''Doenjang'' * (; "thick sauce") or soybean paste is a type of fermented bean paste made entirely of soybean and brine. It is also a byproduct of soup soy sauce production. It is sometimes used as a relish. History The earliest soybean fe ...

(soybean paste),

gochujang ''Gochujang'' (, from Korean: , ) or red chili paste * is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking. It is made from gochu-garu (chili powder), glutinous rice, ''meju'' (fermented soybean) powder, ''yeotgireum'' ...

, and many other spices and condiments. Namul are typically served as

banchan ''Banchan'' (, from Korean: ) or bansang are small side dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. As the Korean language does not distinguish between singular and plural grammatically, the word is used for both one such dish or ...

(반찬, a side dish accompanying the staples, usually

bap BAP or bap may refer to: Food * Bap (bread), a type of bread roll * Bap (rice dish), a Korean food Music * BAP (Basque band), a hardcore punk group (formed 1984) * BAP (German band), a Colognian rock group (formed 1976) * B.A.P (South Korean ban ...

). It is possible to have more than one type of namul served as a banchan at a single meal. Each namul dish may named depending on the main ingredients and the methods of preparation. For example, a seasoned

chamnamul ''Spuriopimpinella brachycarpa'' (Nakai) Kitag. (known formerly as ''Pimpinella brachycarpa)'' (common names chamnamul and short-fruit pimpinella) is a species in the genus '' Spuriopimpinella'' (family Apiaceae). It is a scented plant with saw-t ...

dish is most likely called ''chamnamulmuchim'' (literally "seasoned chamnamul"), since the name of the vegetable already contains the word "namul" in it. A namul dish made of raw

radish The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an Eating, edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman Empire, Roman times. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, be ...

is called ''musaengchae'' ("무생채, seasoned raw radish"), since it is usually the namul dish made with cooked radish that is called ''munamul'' ("radish namul").

Main ingredients of namul

Vegetables

Seaweeds

Mushrooms

Others

Gallery

File:Bangpung (Peucedanum japonicum).jpg, '' bangpung-namul'' File:Chamnamul muchim (Pimpinella brachycarpa).jpg, ''

Chamnamul ''Spuriopimpinella brachycarpa'' (Nakai) Kitag. (known formerly as ''Pimpinella brachycarpa)'' (common names chamnamul and short-fruit pimpinella) is a species in the genus '' Spuriopimpinella'' (family Apiaceae). It is a scented plant with saw-t ...

'' File:Korean cuisine-Namul-06.jpg, ''

Chwinamul ''Doellingeria scabra'' is a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae from Eurasia. It is frequently found in wild mountain regions of Korea, eastern Russia, China, and Japan. Distribution ''Doellingeria scabra'' is native to Eurasia. It is act ...

'' File:Korean cuisine-Namul-03.jpg, ''

Goguma The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young shoots ...

sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

-namul'' File:Gondre.jpg, ''

Gondre ''Cirsium setidens'', also known as gondre and Korean thistle, is a perennial plant in the genus ''Cirsium'' in the family Asteraceae. It grows naturally in submontane and mountainous area in Korean peninsula where its young leaves are used as n ...

-namul'' File:Gosari.jpg, ''

Gosari Fiddleheads or fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds of a young fern, harvested for use as a vegetable. Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond (circinate vernation). As fiddleheads are harvested early in the sea ...

-namul'' File:Kongnamul muchim (soybean sprouts).jpg, ''

Kongnamul Soybean sprout is a culinary vegetable grown by sprouting soybeans. It can be grown by placing and watering the sprouted soybeans in the shade until the roots grow long. Soybean sprouts are extensively cultivated and consumed in Asian countries. ...

'' File:Miyeokmuchim.jpg, ''

Miyeok Wakame ''(Undaria pinnatifida)'' is a species of kelp native to cold, temperate coasts of the northwest Pacific Ocean. As an edible seaweed, it has a subtly sweet, but distinctive and strong flavour and texture. It is most often served in soups ...

-namul'' File:Paraemuchim (seasoned parae) (Monostroma nitidum).jpg, ''

Parae Green laver (), known as ''aonori'' (; ) in Japan, ''sea cabbage'' () or ''hutai'' () in China, and ''parae'' () in Korean, is a type of edible green seaweed, including species from the genera ''Monostroma'' and ''Ulva'' ('' Ulva prolifera'', ' ...

-namul'' File:Korean cuisine-Pyogo namul-01.jpg, ''

Pyogo The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a medicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional medicine. Ta ...

-namul'' File:Sigeumchinamul (seasoned spinach side dish).jpg, ''

Sigeumchi Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either fre ...

-namul'' File:Korean cuisine-Sukjunamul-01.jpg, '' Sukjunamul'' File:Sebalnamul (Spergularia marina).jpg, '' Sebalnamul'' File:Totmuchim (tot with tofu and doenjang).jpg, '' Tot-namul'' File:Doraji-namul.jpg, ''

Doraji ''Platycodon grandiflorus'' (from Ancient Greek "wide" and "bell") is a species of herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the family Campanulaceae, and the only member of the genus ''Platycodon''. It is native to East Asia (China, Korea, Japa ...

-namul'' File:Ssukgat-namul.jpg, '' Ssukgat-namul'' File:Siraegi-namul.jpg, ''

Siraegi ''Siraegi'' () is a Korean ingredient prepared by drying the leaves and stems of a radish or, less commonly, of a napa cabbage. ''Siraegi'' dishes * ''Siraegi-jijimi'' – a type of ''jijimi'' that is made by first cutting soaked ''siraegi'' i ...

-namul'' File:Korean food-Bibim ssambap ingredient-01.jpg, Various namuls for

bibimbap Bibimbap * ( , from Korean , literally "mixed rice"), sometimes romanized as bi bim bap or bi bim bop, is a Korean rice dish. The term "bibim" means "mixing" and "bap" refers to cooked rice. ''Bibimbap'' is served as a bowl of warm white rice ...

File:Korea-Sokcho-Sanchae jeongsik-Namul-01.jpg, ''Sanchae''

table d'hôte In restaurant terminology, a ''table d'hôte'' (; ) menu is a menu where multi- course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed total price. Such a menu may be called ''prix fixe'' ("fixed price"; ). The terms set meal and set menu ...

References

External links

{{Commons
Life in Korea: Korean seasoned vegetables
Korean cuisine