Korean Seasoned Bracken Fern

Quick answer

Total time: 30 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 7

About this dish

Gosari, the Korean name for bracken fern, is one of the oldest foraged vegetables in Korean cooking, with consumption records tracing back to the Three Kingdoms period.

It is a mandatory component of bibimbap and a required dish on jesa, the ancestral rite table set for ceremonies honoring the dead. Dried gosari must soak overnight in cold water and then boil until the tough, wiry fibers relax into a distinctively springy, almost elastic chew that no fresh vegetable can replicate. The rehydrated fern is stir-fried in perilla oil with minced garlic until fragrant, then a small amount of soup soy sauce and water goes in and the pan is covered to let the liquid absorb and the fern braise briefly. This short braising step is what rounds the flavor and ensures the seasoning penetrates the fibrous strands rather than sitting only on the surface. Perilla oil is the traditional fat of choice rather than sesame oil because its green, herbal quality pairs more naturally with the woodsy, forest-floor flavor of gosari, amplifying rather than competing with it. Large batches are typically made during Chuseok or Seollal and eaten over several days, as the flavor improves and deepens as the dish sits.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmountUnit

Boiled bracken fern200 gg

Soy sauce2 tbsptbsp

Sesame oil1 tbsptbsp

Garlic cloves2 eaea

Perilla oil1 tbsptbsp

Water100 mlml

Sesame seeds1 tsptsp

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Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Heat

Gently squeeze excess water from 200 g boiled bracken fern, then cut it into 5 to 6 cm lengths.

Check the base ends as you cut, and discard any pieces that still feel stiff or stringy when pressed.
2

Control

Finely mince 2 garlic cloves before heating the pan so they are ready to add quickly.

Add 1 tablespoon perilla oil to a skillet and warm it over medium heat for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
3

Control

Add the bracken fern and stir-fry over medium heat for 2 minutes.

Toss and separate the strands so the perilla oil coats them evenly, but do not let the pan run dry or the fern may toughen.
4

Season

Add 2 tablespoons soy sauce and the minced garlic, then stir-fry for 1 more minute.

Stop this stage when the garlic smells aromatic and the bracken darkens slightly, before the garlic browns or turns bitter.
5

Control

Pour in 100 ml water, cover the pan, and lower the heat to medium-low.

Braise for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the liquid is mostly absorbed into the fibrous strands.
6

Step

Turn off the heat when only a little liquid remains on the bottom of the pan.

Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toss gently, and let the dish cool slightly before serving.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Bracken fern soaked overnight, boiled fully, then seasoned with perilla oil to draw out its forest aroma.
Finish cue: Turn off the heat when only a little liquid remains on the bottom of the pan.
Avoid this: Toss and separate the strands so the perilla oil coats them evenly, but do not let the pan run dry or the fern may toughen.
Storage and reheating: Dried gosari must soak overnight in cold water and then boil until the tough, wiry fibers relax into a distinctively springy, almost elastic chew that no fresh vegetable can replicate.