Senposai

Brassica rapa × Brassica oleracea · Brassica

40 pairings

Senposai (Brassica rapa × Brassica oleracea) is a leafy Japanese hybrid brassica, a cross between komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach) and ordinary cabbage, grown for its large, round, tender bright-green leaves. Sweeter and more delicate than either parent, with only a whisper of the cabbage family's mustardy edge, it wilts quickly and is used much like spinach or chard — stir-fried, blanched and dressed, dropped into soups and hot pots, or the youngest leaves eaten raw.

Picking a good onedrag

Just cut, cupped and springyYellow, limp, slimy at the petiole

Shop freshThe all-rounder: a fast stir-fry, blanched and dressed for ohitashi, or dropped into miso soup.Everyday best

LeafGreen, the cup relaxed, edges still whole

Midrib and petioleBends before it snaps, the break only damp

The liftStands, then folds over slowly

Smell at the cutGreen and neutral, almost nothing

What to look for, from just cut, cupped and springy to yellow, limp, slimy at the petiole.

Preparing