Chwinamul 취나물 is a wonderful classic vegetable dish that’s delicious and healthy. Often served as a side dish or as a topping for Korean Bibimbap.
What is Chwinamul?
Chwinamul 취나물 is a Korean vegetable side dish made from the leaves of the 곰취 (Gomchwi) Aster Scaber plant. The leaves and young stems are harvested and then traditionally dried to be cooked later. When cooked, it has a wonderfully herbaceous flavor with a hint of pleasant bitterness. It is served by itself as a side dish, as a topping for Bibimbap or as a Green Namul in the 3 color namul (Samsaek Namul 삼색나물) set of green, brown and white.
Where can I buy Chwinamul and what should I buy?
You can buy Chwinamul at most Korean grocery stores, in the dried food section where they sell Miyeok and Gim. You can also probably by frozen ones now which will save you a lot of time.
The picture (LEFT) below shows a bag of dried Aster Scaber leaves. This particular one is from Jeju Island and is labeled 건취나물 Geon Chwinamul where ‘건’ means dried. These leaves have a great deep bluish-green color but many times they may look a bit brown which is also OK. You can also find FROZEN ones (RIGHT) in some Korean grocery stores. These are just as good and will save you the time of soaking for hours.
You may also notice that there are differences in the sizes of the leaves. You can get very young and tender ones or ones that are bigger and a bit more fibrous. Both are fine, it’s all what you like. Here’s a snapshot from my video that compares the two.
Grow your own Aster Scaber Chwinamul
If you’d like you can grow your own Chwinamul by planting seeds. You can buy them online – search for Aster Scaber seeds.
Seasoning Ingredients
Korean Guk Ganjang (Soup Soy Sauce)
Korean Soy Sauce for Soup (Guk Ganjang 국간장) is a very important seasoning ingredient in Korean cooking because it doesn’t just add saltiness but also a wonderfully complex and deep in flavor. It’s full of umami flavors and even though it’s made purely from just salt and soybeans, the sauce has hints of fermented fish sauce-like umami packed flavor which makes any namul that much more delicious.
So if you can, if you are interested in making authentic Korean namuls and guk (soups), you should invest in a bottle of this wonderful soy sauce. Here’s a picture of my favorite brand and you can buy it from my store HERE.
Korean Sesame Oil or Perilla Oil?
One of the key ingredients in making Korean namul is Korean sesame oil and perilla oil. Korean sesame oil (chamgireum 참기름) is oil made from sesame seeds (chamkkae 참깨) and Korean perilla oil (deulgireum 들기름) is oil made from pressing Perilla Seeds (들깨 Deulkkae).
Sesame Oil – as you may already know taste very nutty and smooth. Perilla Oil is a bit stronger and has a minty, shiso, perilla or basil + mint like flavor which you may be a bit too strong for some people. But if you like it, you will LOVE it and adds such an amazing addition of minty and herbaceous aroma to namuls.
Basically, you can use either one for namul but if you were to choose just one, sesame oil would be the most general one to use for all varieties.
BEST Sesame Oil to buy?
If you want to know what my favorite Sesame Oil is, read my Ultimate Guide to Sesame Oil post.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Soak Dried Chwinamul in lukewarm water for 2-3 hrs or longer if you have thicker more mature leaves.
- Once the leaves are soft, remove it from water and let it drain.
- While the leaves are draining, chop garlic and green onions.
- Get a handful of the leaves between your hands and squeeze out excess water. Don’t squeeze so much that it feels dry but just enough so no water is dripping from the leaves.
- Closely examine the namul stems – if you are using old mature leaves, you may want to remove some tough stem ends by breaking them off with your hands. If you don’t you may end up with some unpleasant tough chewy stems when you eat. This particular bag from Jeju that I rehydrated is so perfectly young and tender that I really didn’t need to do anything.
- In a bowl, add the leaves, then season the leaves first with Guk Ganjang (soup soy sauce), Korean sea salt (cheonilyeom), chopped garlic, perilla seed oil or sesame oil. You can also add chopped green onions now or later in the pan. Massage the leaves with your hands by gently grabbing and letting go of the leaves so all the seasonings are well absorbed.
- Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat and give a couple of swirls of vegetable oil.
- Add garlic to pan and saute it for a minute or so until garlic starts to sizzle. Add the seasoned Chwinamul into the pan and saute for 1-2 min.
- Add 1/4 cup of water and cover with a lid then cook for 3 min or so until most of the water is gone.
- Uncover, saute for another 10 seconds or so. Finish the namul with some green onions, sesame seeds or perilla seeds.
- Transfer to a plate and serve at room temperature for best flavor!
FROM JINJOO!
Chef’s Tips
- Use good quality sesame or perilla oil, it makes a big difference because the seasoning is very simple and each seasoning ingredient adds or takes away a lot from the final flavors.
- Adjust water to your liking – depending on how dry or tough your Chwinamul is and also how you like your namul (soft and really tender vs a bit chewier with a bite), add more water and cook longer if you feel you need to.
- Store leftovers in the fridge and serve it cold and it still tastes delicious.
- Try this namul on your Bibimbap – it’s soo yummy with Doraji and Gosari namul!
- Make a big batch and freeze either the rehydrated leaves or even the finished namul. Just defrost and enjoy!
Quick 3 Min Video of Chwinamul
How to make 3 different Namuls – Fully narrated 13 min Video
Chwinamul (Sauteed Aster Scaber)
Ingredients
- 40 g dried Chwinamul (Aster Scaber) 40g = 9 oz wet Chwinamul
- 1 Tbsp guk ganjang (Korean soup soy sauce)
- 1 Tbsp Korean Solar Sea Salt
- 1 Tbsp perilla oil or sesame oil
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 Tbsp chopped green onions
- 1 tsp perilla seeds or sesame seeds
Instructions
- Soak Dried Chwinamul in lukewarm water for 2-3 hrs or longer if you have thicker more mature leaves.40 g dried Chwinamul (Aster Scaber)
- Once the leaves are soft, remove it from water and let it drain.
- While the leaves are draining, chop garlic and green onions.
- Get a handful of the leaves between your hands and squeeze out excess water. Don’t squeeze so much that it feels dry but just enough so no water is dripping from the leaves.
- Closely examine the namul stems – if you are using old mature leaves, you may want to remove some tough stem ends by breaking them off with your hands. The ones I rehydrated are so perfectly young and tender that I really didn't need to do anything.
- In a bowl, add the leaves, then season the leaves first with Guk Ganjang (soup soy sauce), Korean sea salt (cheonilyeom), chopped garlic, perilla seed oil or sesame oil. You can also add chopped green onions now or later in the pan. Massage the leaves with your hands by gently grabbing and letting go of the leaves so all the seasonings are well absorbed.1 Tbsp guk ganjang (Korean soup soy sauce), 1 Tbsp Korean Solar Sea Salt, 1 tsp chopped garlic, 1 Tbsp perilla oil
- Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat and give a couple swirls of vegetable oil.1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Add garlic to pan and saute it for a minute or so until garlic starts to sizzle. Add the seasoned Chwinamul into the pan and saute for 1-2 min.
- Add 1/4 cup of water and cover with a lid then cook for 3 min or so until most of the water is gone.1/4 cup water
- Uncover and saute for another 10 seconds or so and finish by adding chopped green onions and perilla seeds or sesame seeds!1 Tbsp chopped green onions, 1 tsp perilla seeds
Equipment
- 1 frying pan with lid
This recipe was wonderful. I missed this taste from childhood and had not known how easy it was to make. Thank you so much for sharing!
Aww.. I’m so happy to hear that!!Thank you so much for the lovely feedback.