Gosari aka Fern Brake (or weird Korean brown vegetable) (2024)

If you’re wondering what that long stranded brown vegetable in your bibimbap is, it’s a classic Korean side dish called gosari. The hardest part is not making it but finding it.

What do you call it?

For the longest time, this was just a “weird Korean brown vegetable.” One time I asked what it was in a restaurant, and they replied “mountain vegetable.”

If you knew this was called gosari in Korean, you really do deserve an honorary medal.

The pronunciation, btw, is not so much “GO-SORRY” but more like “goh-so-ree” with a soft g and a little roll to the r.

Other names you may see this dish called:

• Gosari namul (the Korean name of this dish)
• Fern bracken
• Bracken fern
• Fernbrake
• Pteridium Aquilinum (the scientific name)
• Fiddlehead ferns
• Bracken fiddleheads

It is commonly found in bibimbap rice bowls or the hot beef noodle soup known as yukaejang.

Fern origins

According to Lee Wade’s Korean Cookery cookbook, gosari is “edible racken, young shoots, gathered in April and May and sold fresh at that time, when they are delicious. Large quantities are also dried…those that have been dried are not so good to eat as the fresh ones.”

Now how you get this dark brown vegetable from a bright green fern always confused me, but it starts green and turns brown when it dries.

Where do you buy it?

Fresh bracken can be foraged in the wild. However, it can be found in the dried vegetable aisle of the Korean supermarket or on Amazon:

Dried without flowers here – assi brand

Dried with flowers here – ROM America brand

In addition, it can be found in the refrigerator section of the Korean market, usually near the pickled vegetables, already rehydrated and ready to go.

How many calories are in gosari?

Per the USDA, 100g of raw fiddlehead ferns is 34 calories.

With additional seasonings, one serving in this recipe below is 51 calories.

Does it cause cancer?

Fiddlehead ferns have ptalquiloside, a known carcinogen. However, studies have shown that boiling and salting the vegetable can denature and greatly reduce this toxin.

As we know, many things cause cancer, including the char on grilled meat, red food color, and stress.

To each their own, and everything in moderation as Julia Child would say.

How to cook it

Helpful Tips

1. You can buy dried fernbrake in the vegetable aisle or presoaked fernbrake in the refrigerator section of Korean markets.
2. Fernbrake can come with or without flower buds at the top. Either variety will work depending on your preference or what you can find.
3. If you care not to cook your fern brake for 45 minutes, you can soak overnight to reduce cooking time. The texture should be soft but not mushy.
4. If you prefer not to cook with sesame oil due to its low smoke point, you can use another oil and finish with a little bit of sesame oil after cooking for flavor.
5. This will last up to a week in the fridge.
6. Serve as a side dish or add to Korean dishes such as bimbap or yuk gae jang.