How to Cook Udo (5 Steps)

If you have udo shoots, you either grow Aralia cordata, know someone who does, or enjoy quick jaunts to the Orient. Udo (Aralia cordata) grows wild in Japan, but it's occasionally cultivated in the U.S., where dedicated growers etiolate the shoots, or cause them to grow white by mounding soil around them -- similar to white asparagus. Udo isn't a delicacy, but it is a rare find usually added to soups, sauces or stir-fries in the last moments of cooking. You have to partially cook udo stalks a few times to get rid of a resinous film that tastes like pine.

Things You'll Need

Saucepan
Colander

Paper towel

Instructions

Peel the fibrous outer layer from the udo shoots using your fingers and discard. Bring about 1 quart of water to a boil in a saucepan.
Place the udo in the saucepan and cook for 30 seconds after the water returns to a boil. Strain the shoots and rinse them in a colander under cool running water to stop the cooking.
Bring about 1 quart of fresh water to a boil, blanch again for 30 seconds, rinse and drain. Blanch and rinse the udo once more for 30 seconds, making it three times total.
Pat the shoots dry with paper towel. Slice or chop the udo into slivers or julienne strips.
Add the sliced udo as-is to salads and other cold dishes, add it to soups and sauces during the last five minutes of cooking, or add it to stir-fries in the last 30 seconds of sauteing, just enough to heat it up.

Previous:How to Make a Cone Type California Roll

Next: How to Cook Kabocha