Namul facts for kids

Namul
Quick facts for kids Korean name
Hangul	나물
Revised Romanization	namul
McCune–Reischauer	namul
IPA	[na.mul]

Namul (Korean: 나물) is a popular type of Korean dish. It can mean two things:

• It's a general word for different kinds of edible plants, like grasses or leaves.
• It also refers to delicious side dishes made from these plants, often seasoned with various flavors.

When Koreans talk about san-namul (산나물), they mean wild greens picked from mountains. Bom-namul (봄나물) are fresh vegetables harvested in spring.

There's a special day called Daeboreum, which is the first full moon of the year. On this day, Koreans traditionally eat boreum-namul (보름나물) with five-grain rice. People believe that eating these full moon namuls in winter helps them stay strong and healthy, especially to handle the heat of the upcoming summer.

Making and Serving Namul Dishes

A Korean meal table with cooked rice, soup, kimchi, meat slices, and three namul side dishes (spinach, brackenfern, and balloon flower root namul).

You can make namul dishes from almost any kind of vegetable, herb, or green plant. This includes roots, leaves, stems, seeds, sprouts, flowers, and even fruits! Sometimes, seaweeds, mushrooms, and other ingredients are also used.

Most of the time, the vegetables are first blanched. This means they are quickly dipped in boiling water and then cooled. This helps them keep their color and a nice texture. But namul can also be prepared in other ways:

• They can be served fresh and raw.
• They can be boiled, fried, or sautéed (cooked quickly in a little oil).
• Sometimes, they are fermented or steamed.

Namul dishes get their amazing taste from different seasonings. Common ingredients include:

• Salt and vinegar
• Sesame oil and perilla oil
• Different kinds of soy sauce
• Doenjang (a savory soybean paste)
• Gochujang (a spicy chili paste)
• Many other spices and flavors!

Namul is usually served as a banchan (반찬). These are small side dishes that come with the main meal, usually with rice. It's common to have several different types of namul served at one meal.

Each namul dish often gets its name from its main ingredient and how it's prepared. For example, a seasoned dish made from chamnamul is called chamnamulmuchim. This name literally means "seasoned chamnamul." If you have a namul made from raw radish, it's called musaengchae, which means "seasoned raw radish."

Common Ingredients for Namul

Many different plants and other foods are used to make namul. Here are some of the most common types:

Vegetables

Seaweeds

Mushrooms

Other Ingredients

Gallery

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  bangpung-namul

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  Chamnamul

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  Chwinamul

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  Goguma-sun-namul

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  Gondre-namul

• 

  Gosari-namul

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  Kongnamul

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  Miyeok-namul

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  Parae-namul

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  Pyogo-namul

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  Sigeumchi-namul

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  Sukjunamul

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  Sebalnamul

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  Tot-namul

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  Doraji-namul

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  Ssukgat-namul

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  Siraegi-namul

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  Various namuls for bibimbap

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  Sanchae table d'hôte

See also

In Spanish: Namul para niños