namul

Namul () refers to either a variety of edible greens or leaves or seasoned herbal dishes made of them. Wild greens are called san-namul (), and spring vegetables are called bom-namul (). On the day of Daeboreum, the first full moon of the year, Koreans eat boreum-namul () with five-grain rice. It is believed that boreum namuls eaten in winter help one to withstand the heat of the summer to come. == Preparation and serving ==

thumb|A single-person bapsang (meal table) with bap (food)|bap (cooked rice), [[guk (soup), kimchi, pyeonyuk (meat slices), and three namul banchans (spinach namul, brackenfern namul, and balloon flower root namul)]] For namul as a dish, virtually any type of vegetable, herb, or green can be used, and the ingredient includes roots, leaves, stems, seeds, sprouts, petals, and fruits. Some seaweeds and mushrooms, and even animal products such as beef tendons are also made into namuls. Although in most cases the vegetables (and non-vegetable namul ingredients) are blanched before being seasoned, the method of preparation can also vary; they may be served fresh (raw), boiled, fried, sautéed, fermented, dried, or steamed. Namul can be seasoned with salt, vinegar, sesame oil and perilla oil, regular soy sauce and soup soy sauce, doenjang (soybean paste), gochujang, and many other spices and condiments.