Sansai

Sansai is a Japanese term denoting mountain vegetables or edible wild plants which mark the beginning of spring in Japan. The vegetables and plants are foraged in the wild and they shouldn't be confused with the ones that are cultivated and harvested from fields.

Some common sansai include udo, used for its soft edible stalks that belong to the ginseng family; warabi, the shoot of a fern; fuki or butterbur, used for soups and stews; zenmai, an edible fern with uniquely coiled leaves; and nobiru, a plant similar to field garlic.

Due to the fact that these wild plants are commonly used in various dishes, nowadays they can even be found in supermarkets and ethnic foodstores.