Ramps are an early spring vegetable that grow wild in the Korean mountains, and also in the eastern part of North America.
In Korea they’re called sanmaneul, where “san” means mountain, and “maneul” means garlic. It’s also called myeongi namul (명이나물). They taste like a cross between a leek and garlic and have a strong, fresh taste that reminds me of springtime. The leaves are wide, thin, and soft.
Ramps have a lot of uses in Korean cuisine: they’re used to make kimchi, pickles (jangajji) or are steamed or fried. Fresh leaves can be used as ssam: to wrap rice or Korean pork belly bbq (Samgyeopsal-gui).
