Warabi bracken

Pteridium aquilinum

A common sansai or mountain vegetable, warabi is a gift of nature that starts to appear here and there in late April in our area. While it is poisonous when eaten raw, the carcinogenic substance (ptaquiloside) is neutralized by parboiling (typically with a small amount of wood ash or baking soda) and soaking in the same water overnight (see warabi prep). Warabi can be preserved with salt, either after quick boiling or raw. When preserved with salt, the poison is neutralized during the preservation process. As with other mountain vegetables, warabi is normally eaten in small amounts, and consumption of cooked warabi should not present a major health problem. However, as an extra precaution, the soft tips containing spores are often removed before preparation.

Warabi has an earthy taste and a succulent, somewhat slimy texture. It is often simmered in broth and made into pickles or salads with soy sauce- or vinegar-based dressing. It is also used as an ingredient for tempura and miso soup or as a topping for soba or udon noodles.

To harvest, simply snap the stem toward the ground. If you need to apply some force, the stem is too tough to eat anyway. Harvest those with closed tips, as stems are more tender.

If warabi top is divided into three, pick the center one (tender), snapping at the dividing point.

Today prep-boiled packs are widely available year round. Avoid packaged warabi with a vivid green color, as it is likely to be artificially colored.

(Fresh) 21 kcal/100 g; 92.7% water, 2.4% protein, 0.1% fat, 4.0% carbohydrate, 0.8% ash
(Boiled) 15 kcal/100 g; 95.2% water, 1.5% protein, 0.1% fat, 3.0% carbohydrate, 0.2% ash

Recipes with warabi

• Sansai tanuki soba / buckwheat noodles with mountain vegetables and tempura pearls 
  
• Koyadofu to warabi no misoshiru / miso soup with freeze-dried tofu and bracken
  
• Maitake to warabi no gorugonzoora pasta / pasta with hen of the woods mushrooms and bracken in gorgonzola sauce
• Warabi no tataki (miso aji) / savory bracken paste (miso version) 
  
• Soba to warabi no ponzu sarada / buckwheat noodle and bracken salad with citrus soy sauce
  
• Warabi to eringi no iridofu / scrambled tofu with bracken and king oyster mushrooms
• Shiitake to warabi no buriichiizu-yaki / shiitake and bracken with brie cheese
  
• Warabi to ebi no kakiage / mixed tempura with bracken and shrimp
• Warabi to ebi no nimono / simmered bracken with shrimp
  
• Warabi no tamagotoji / bracken with egg in broth
• Warabi no karashijoyu-bitashi / bracken marinated in Japanese mustard soy sauce
  
• Warabi to ganmodoki no nimono / bracken and deep-fried tofu patties simmered in broth
• Warabi, konnyaku, satsumaage no itameni / saute-simmered bracken, konnyaku yam cake and deep-fried fishcake in broth
• Warabi to age no nimono / bracken and thin deep-fried tofu in broth
• Sansai gohan / rice with mountain vegetables
• Warabi, tofu, age no akadashi  / red miso soup with bracken, tofu and thin deep-fried tofu
• Warabi no umebitashi / bracken marinated in light broth with pickled plum
• Warabi to kinoko no amakara shoyuzuke / bracken and mushrooms marinated in lightly sweetened spicy soy sauce

Try warabi in the following recipes

• Gomoku ankake udon / wheat noodles with thickened soup and assorted ingredients
• Miso yasai raamen / vegetable ramen noodles with miso-flavored soup
• Chawanmushi / steamed savory custard
  
• Tosho chaamen / dao xiao chao mian / fried hand-shaven noodles
• Oden (genen) / fishcake, tofu and root vegetable stew (reduced-sodium version)

(Last updated: April 27, 2019)