Naengi-namul (Seasoned Shepherd's Purse)

Naengi belongs to early spring, when the market baskets still look half-winter and then this little green appears with its tangled roots hanging on. Cook the month you're standing in. If you see good naengi in March or April, buy it that day. If it is July, don't force this dish; make spinach namul or minari-muchim instead and wait for the right green to come back.

The root is not a nuisance. It is where much of the flavor lives, earthy and sharp in the clean way spring greens should be. That means the dish asks for patience before it asks for heat: trim the dark root hairs, scrape away grit, rinse until the water stays clear. I won't tell you this is easy. A rushed washing gives you sand between the teeth, and no amount of sesame oil can apologize for that.

Once clean, naengi needs only a short blanch and a small bowl of seasoning. Doenjang gives depth, garlic gives edge, sesame oil rounds it, and the green must still taste like itself. Season it alone, in its own bowl, before it meets rice or any other banchan. 손맛 is real; I measure it anyway, so the first good spring bowl can be cooked again next year.