Nira

Somewhat similar to negi, nira Garlic chives or Chinese chives are quite pungent, garlicky, and are added mainly to ohitashi or used in itamemono stir fries. They also make an excellent dressing. Nira are generally perceived to be ingredients in Korean cuisine, and indeed some Korean food stores here sell them as fiery Korean-style buchu kimchee pickles.

Nira are mentioned in numerous ancient Japanese documents, including the Manyoshu ‘Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves’ written some time around 759 AD, where they are variously called kamira, kukumira and mira. It was only under the Insei ‘cloistered rule’ administration of the Heian Period (794 to 1185 AD) that they finally settled on ‘nira’. Lord knows what they would have thought about them being called Welsh onions.