Oenanthe javanica, commonly Java waterdropwort,[3]water celery,[4]water dropwort,[5]Chinese celery,[4]Indian pennywort,[6]minari and Japanese (flat leaf) parsley,[4] is a plant of the genus Oenanthe originating from East Asia. It has a widespread native distribution in temperate Asia and tropical Asia, and is also native to Queensland, Australia.[6]
Oenanthe javanica is a perennial herb that grows to about 1 m in height, with fibrous roots that emerge from all nodes, and flowers with 5 white petals and 5 stamens. The leaves are aromatic, glabrous, and have a sheath covering the stem. The leaflets are divided into lobes and crinkled.[7] The 'Flamingo' variety has colorful pink edges. The plant grows wild in moist areas, along streams and on the edges of ponds.[citation needed]
The plant is considered officially invasive in several states of the United States.[8]
Called seri (セリ) in Japanese, it is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish, Nanakusa-gayu, consumed annually on January 7. Seri is so called because the vegetable tends to aggressively compete with other plants for nutrition and space, thus the name 'seri' (競り) meaning 'to compete'. It is grown in irrigated rice fields, and in areas with clear and abundant water sources.[10][11]
Seri season begins from September to June, and it comes in two varieties: the winter variety, called ne-seri (根せり; root seri) is the whole seri, with root attached, while the spring variety, called ha-seri (葉せり; leaf seri) uses young and tender shoots. The former variety ends in March, giving way to the latter variety in April.[10][12]
A regional specialty of Sendai is seri-nabe (せり鍋), where whole seri are put into a soup stock alongside other ingredients in a hotpot. It is offered every winter and several restaurants have specialized themselves in this dish due to its rising popularity.[15][16]Kiritanpo-nabe, another hotpot dish originating from Akita Prefecture, also uses seri as one of its ingredients.[17][18][19]
In Korea, the plant is called minari (미나리) and is eaten as namul vegetable.[20] The 2020 drama film Minari is named after the vegetable.[21] Although minari is a native Korean word, it is represented by the hanja '芹' (geun) in ancient records as it carries the same meaning. Minari holds special value among the Joseon aristocracy because it is seen as a symbol of loyalty and humility; during King Sejong's reign, minari kimchi are placed on the second row of the table during ancestral rites. Additionally, it is also a symbol of learning, and the phrase chaegeun (채근; 采芹), which means 'harvesting minari', is used to describe studying at Sungkyungkwan. The vegetable was grown everywhere, from commoner households to the palace itself. Before the introduction and subsequent rise to popularity of cabbage in Korea during the late Joseon period, minari is the main ingredient of making kimchi alongside radish.[22][23][24]
Minari-ganghoe is a seasonal food that is prepared every early April in anticipation of Buddha's Birthday, usually eaten with gochujang. There used to be a difference between the minari-ganghoe prepared by commoners and royalty; while the former is made in the shape of a topknot, the latter is made in the shape of a jokduri.[25][26][27][28]
↑ Arthur O. Tucker and Thomas DeBaggio. The Encyclopedia of Herbs: A Comprehensive Reference to Herbs of Flavor and Fragrance. Timber Press, 2009. p. 353. ISBN9781604691344
↑ Journal of Plant Biology - Volumes 45-46 2002- Page 83 "The cultivated type, 'Minari', is a major vegetable crop . These two types are not easily distinguishable; even quantitative characters such as leaf and petiole size cannot be used as criteria for their classification . "
↑ Lim, Hee-soo. "미나리강회". Korean Folk Encyclopedia (in Korean).
↑ Jeong, Hye-geong. "강회". Korean Folk Encyclopedia (in Korean).
↑ Lee, Hyo-ji, "강회 (강膾)", 한국민족문화대백과사전 [Encyclopedia of Korean Culture] (in Korean), Academy of Korean Studies, retrieved 2025-03-06
↑ Yoon, So-jung (2016-06-04). "韩国料理食谱：水芹卷". Korea.net (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2025-03-06.
↑ Anticoagulant activities of persicarin and isorhamnetin. Ku SK, Kim TH and Bae JS, Vascul Pharmacol., April 2013, volume 58, issue 4, pages 272-279, doi:10.1016/j.vph.2013.01.005
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