Mustard-Dressed Greens (からし和え, Karashi-ae)

Bitter greens know what they're doing. Nanohana in early spring, shungiku in cold weather, komatsuna when the market is practical rather than poetic: each one has a little edge, and karashi-ae gives that edge a clean place to stand.

The dish is not difficult. It asks for one detail done properly: blanch the greens briefly, cool them fast, then squeeze them dry. If water stays in the leaves, the mustard dressing turns thin and sulky. If you wring them too hard, you bruise the greens and lose their life. Firm hands, not punishment. Cooking has enough drama without adding a wrestling match to a bowl of leaves.

Karashi, Japanese mustard, is sharper and more direct than Western mustard. We mix it with soy sauce, a little dashi, and a touch of mirin so the heat wakes the greens without covering them. This is aemono, a dressed dish, and it sits beautifully beside rice, soup, and something grilled or simmered. The method, not the menu, is the lesson: blanch, refresh, squeeze, dress. Four plain movements, and nothing hidden.