Taste of Cordova: Wild Greens Kimchi
The Copper River Delta is famous for her wilderness and abundance of wild foods. Many of us live in cities and dream of that “perfect garden” and sometimes we forget that the plants growing naturally around us that are the best source of food. As we look back through history, we find that humans have always depended on plants of all kinds for medicine, food, and shelter. Cordova’s abundance of natural flora can be harvested for both medicinal and culinary purposes. Edible plants – dandelions, nettles, fireweed, beach greens, spruce tips, wild chamomile, red clover and many more – are especially good during the month of July. Many of these plants can be eaten raw and make perfect snacks on hikes or camping trips. Foraging and hiking go hand in hand, however before harvesting please be mindful and respectful when taking wild plants. It is important to know what you are gathering and to be considerate of others and the land by practicing sustainable harvesting techniques. There is a plethora of books available about identifying, picking, and cooking with wild foods. Two of my favorite books are Discovering Wild Plants by Janice Schofield and The Boreal Herbal by Beverley Gray. They are both fantastic reads and have information about identification, historical, medicinal, gastronomic, and cosmetic uses.
Ingredients:
- 8 cups of wild greens (Fireweed shoots, Fiddle Heads, Beach Greens, Beach Peas or whatever else you can get your hands on)
- 3 large carrots sliced
- Two bundles of green onion chopped
- 1 sliced yellow onion
- 6-8 sliced radishes
- 4 inches ginger
- 2 heads of garlic
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- ¼ cup sugar
- 4-6 TBS Korean Chili Pepper Flakes
- 1 cup kosher salt
Instructions:
- Cut 8 cups of greens into bite size pieces
- Add 1 cup of salt to the greens
- Mix until all the greens are covered
- Cover with cold water for 1 hour
- Drain and rinse with cold water
- Spin greens until dry
- Add Korean chili flakes, ginger, garlic, 1 bundle of green onion, sugar, soy sauce, and fish sauce into blender until it’s a paste
- Add two cups of kimchi sauce to greens
- Add chopped green onion, sliced radishes, sliced yellow onion, along with peeled and sliced carrots in with wild greens
- Mix and ENJOY
Raven Madison is a life-long resident of Cordova, Alaska. She is a recent graduate of University of Alaska Fairbanks where she studied Rural Development, Natural Resource Management and Alaska Native Studies. She is inspired by the land and loves to participate in subsistence activities. Most of the time you’ll find her in the woods or by the sea. Follow her on Instagram as @raven.alayna
Photo credit Gabriel Rodriguez, Photographer for Kitchen Unnecessary. Follow them on YouTube and Instagram.
