Sansai Tempura (deep fried edible wild plants) in Japan

Sansai is edible wild plant that means mountain vegetables in Japanese, generally grows wild, not grow to force. There are many Sansai in Japan, and people enjoy Sansai flavor, the taste of spring. During the spring, you can find some Sansai at near mountains or some supermarkets in Japan. And also you can raise some Sansai easily in the garden like Nobiru (wild rocambole), Mitsuba (Japanese honewort), Myoga (Japanese ginger), etc., too.

Many Sansai (edible wild plants) have slightly bitter tastes, can be eaten as tempura (deep fried foods), soup, salad, pickles, or jam, etc… Sansai’s bitter taste is addicting! One of the best ways of Sansai cooking is tempura (deep fried foods).

During the spring, you can eat Sansai tempura at many Soba restaurants in Japan. There is a menu of tempura or tenzaru (soba with tempura).

Enjoy!