Shungiku Chrysanthemum Leaf Hot Pot Greens

Japan (and East Asia broadly) — shungiku cultivation since Tang Dynasty China; adopted into Japanese cuisine in medieval period

Shungiku (春菊, spring chrysanthemum, Glebionis coronaria) is one of Japan's most important cooked greens — chrysanthemum leaves with a distinctive herbal, slightly bitter, aromatic flavor that is prized in hot pot dishes, sukiyaki, and as a briefly blanched side vegetable. The flavor is unlike any other green: slightly medicinal, herbaceous, with a clean bitterness that becomes pleasant when cooked briefly. Not the same as the ornamental chrysanthemum used as edible flower garnish (kiku) — shungiku is a specific cultivated variety for eating as a cooked leaf. It wilts dramatically and should be added at the last moment to nabe dishes.

Herbal, slightly bitter, chrysanthemum-aromatic — distinctive clean bitterness that complements rich hot pot broths