Komatsuna! Komatsuna! I think it’s such a cute name. “Little pine vegetable.” Until the Edo Period, it used to be called “Kasaina” but I think komatsuna is cuter. According to the Japanese Wikipedia site, it was named Komatsuna because Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune was given it as a gift near Komatsu River while he was hunting.*
Komatsuna is one of my new favorite vegetables. It’s new because I only recently started cooking with it. It’s one of those vegetables that I always ate at restaurants or at peoples houses but never really ventured to cook with it on my own. I found out that it’s really versatile and I liken it to a sturdier version of spinach. It is also known as Japanese Mustard Spinach, although I don’t know why they call certain greens mustard greens when they taste nothing like mustard. It has a mild flavor and can be used in just about anything. I like using it in pastas, soups, salads, stir-fry dishes, omelettes…you name it.
Naomi Kuwabara was born and raised in California but spent many summers in Japan growing up. She has spent time living in Hokkaido and Osaka, both meccas for Japanese cuisine. Her passion is cooking and sharing her experiences cooking Japanese food with others. Her blog Umamitopia is about her experiences cooking Japanese food. Her greatest inspirations are from her mother and grandmother. Her cooking adventures can be found at http://umamitopia.com.
