All About Komatsuna: 3 Ways to Use Komatsuna in the Kitchen
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Jun 7, 2021 • 1 min read
Named for the village of Komatsugawa by an eighteenth-century shogun passing through for lunch, these “greens of Komatsu” are an unassuming leafy vegetable with immense flavor.
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What Is Komatsuna?
Komatsuna, or Japanese mustard spinach (Brassica rapa var. perviridis), is a leafy green in the turnip and mizuna family. Komatsuna, also known as “tender greens,” is grown year-round in both Japan and Taiwan and is harvested in bundles of individual leaves that resemble spinach. Similar to other Asian greens in the Brassica family, like tatsoi and baby bok choy, komatsuna has broad green leaves that are a good source of calcium. You can eat the leaves when they are both young and especially sweet or fully grown with a bolder, mustardy character.
What Does Komatsuna Taste Like?
Komatsuna leaves have a slightly sweet, mellow flavor profile. This flavor is significantly heightened in senposai mustard, a cross between komatsuna and cabbage. In general, the maturity of the plant’s leaves is a great indication of the intensity of flavor: the more mature the leaves, the more potent the tingling mustard flavor will be.
A variety of komatsuna called goseki bansei is closest to the peppery cultivar originally grown in Komatsugawa during the Edo period. This cultivar has larger leaves than regular komatsuna, with a bitter heat closer to rapini, mustard greens, and small, spicy-sweet Tokyo turnips and their greens.
3 Ways to Use Komatsuna in Your Cooking
Komatsuna is best known for its satisfying textural trick: Its dark-green leaves stay crisp, even when cooked, lending both flavor and snappy crunch to everything from salads to stir-fries.
- 1. As a garnish: Use baby leaves and komatsuna microgreens in salads and soups.
- 2. Add to stir-fries: Like any dark, leafy greens, komatsuna is ideal for a quick stir-fry or sautéed with aromatics. In Japan, cooks occasionally serve the leafy green with grated daikon radish.
- 3. Add to a pickle: Komatsuna is a common ingredient in shoyuzuke, a form of pickling that uses a simple soy sauce marinade.
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