Huki Here – It’s Almost Spring!
Huki Here – It’s Almost Spring
Whenever we go to the supermarket here, we make a point of detouring through the fruit and vegetable aisles to note prices and mentally “ker–ching” our fieldwork. Though we’ve never set down a running total, I have to admit that it’s a practice which brings us a certain smug satisfaction. Because by doing what we do – by growing organically and trying to be as self-sufficient as possible – our health, our spirits and our wallets are all … the richer.
Eyebrows were raised last week, when we noticed hukinotou (butterbur flowerheads) make their first appearance on the shelves. Trucked up from the warmer climes of Southern Kyushu, we at kitchengardenjapan regard hukinotou as the first of the three harbingers of spring (the others being the first flush of plum blossom and finally, the birdsong of the uguisu – Japanese bush-warblers).
The price was of course, silly. The first flush of any crop determining the changes of the seasons always are in Japan, perhaps one of the most season-sensitive populaces of the world. And hukinotou, in the mouths and minds of many folk, is “The very first taste of spring”.
To add to this allure is the fact that hukinotou is primarily a perennial, rhizome-spread wild plant that pre-industrialized Japanese would forage for as families, thus infusing it with cultural and historical significance. Simply put, it is now a (slightly bitter) taste of “The Good Ol’ Days”; of stronger families, tighter communities, and simpler times. Now available only at a premium.
According to my notes, it’s still too early here for hukinotou. It usually arrives mid-March. Yet up in the orchard today, ostensibly to mulch the trees with kaya (a kind of elephant grass), something underfoot caught my eye; a green slightly lighter in shade than its surrounds: The first hukinotou of spring:
First huki of the year
A little more foraging – a 1o minute treasure-hunt – found a few more; enough, when cooked tempura-style, for tonight’s golden, free entrée.
Bittersweet butterbur
Ker-ching!
kitchengardenjapan
(more pics to come)
kitchengardenjapan 
Noice finds, and good writing.
ken
mmmm……I LOVE fukinotou, partly for its unusual and refreshingly bitter taste, but mostly for that ‘spring is coming, friggin’ winter is finally on the way out’ moment when I find my first batch. Believe me, round ‘ere, that is moment to dream of (for months and months…) They’ll be a long while coming yet, up here, but when they do, I shall pounce with glee.
I was delighted to find them growing wild on our land here. Several tempura feasts, and a miso/fukinotou paste to dollop on fresh steaming rice ensued. I left a lot to develop into fully fledged fuki as well. They make a spectacular elephantine-eared plant, and continue to be edible (tho’ don’t ask me how to prepare ’em)
Hi Julian, know exactly what you mean – it’s a real grinner, isn’t it? We, like you, also use the fully-fledged stalks – there’s a pic in the “Farm Pictures” section, and I’ll sure be writing about it when the time comes. Incidentally, the leaves make a fantastic compost/ organic mulch, which is great, because it means absolutely nothing is wasted…