Korean Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Stems
Goguma julgi - sweet potato stems - are the above-ground vines of the sweet potato plant, a byproduct that Korean cooks transform into a summer namul rather than discarding. The most labor-intensive step is peeling each stem by hand, pinching the outer skin with a fingernail and pulling it away to reveal the tender core beneath. After blanching for two minutes and rinsing in cold water, the stems are stir-fried in perilla oil with garlic and seasoned with soup soy sauce. Perilla powder stirred in at the end thickens the remaining liquid into a nutty glaze. In season during summer, the stems are harvested from sweet potato fields before the tubers themselves are dug up.
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Instructions
- 1
Peel sweet potato stems, cut into 5 cm lengths, and soak in salted water for 30 minutes.
- 2
Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes, rinse in cold water, and drain.
- 3
Heat perilla oil in a pan, sauté garlic, then add the stems.
- 4
Add soup soy sauce and water, stir-fry on medium heat for 5 minutes.
- 5
Stir in perilla seed powder, cook 1 more minute, and top with green onion.
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