- Type
- Grains
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Season
- Spring·Summer
- Sowing
- From seed
Japanese Millet
Echinochloa esculenta
Fibre, minerals · a grain that shrugs off dry ground
Japanese millet is an annual grass grown for grain. Its wild relatives are treated as paddy weeds, but a domesticated form has long been sown deliberately for the seed. It grows on dry ground and on waterlogged ground alike and is ready in roughly 100 days, which is why it served for centuries as a hedge against a failed harvest. The Donguibogam lists it in the Grain section as jikmi, glossed in Korean as pissal. That entry gives it a cold nature, a sweet taste and no toxicity, and adds that cooked as rice it is not sticky and tastes plain.
Year-Round Calendar
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Where It Grows
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Main producer
Grown in the mountain districts of Tohoku, including Iwate and Akita, where it is called hie. It was the crop that took the place of rice in years of frequent cold damage. Harvest September, October
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Major producer
Grown in small quantities on mountain fields and fallow plots, mixed in with foxtail millet and sorghum. Harvest September, October
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- Major producer Grown in the northeast and the dry areas of North China as both fodder and grain.
- Major producer What is grown is Indian barnyard millet (Echinochloa frumentacea), a different species from Japanese millet. It is widely grown on the dry fields of the Deccan Plateau, where it is called sama and sanwa.
It is a cultivated form domesticated from wild barnyard grass and refined in East Asia, but its origin cannot be pinned to any single country, so no place-of-origin row has been set down. What is grown in India is a separate species of the same genus (Echinochloa frumentacea), domesticated on its own, so when the two are shaded on one map the fact that the species differ must be made clear. Both species survive where the aim is to take a grain crop from poor land with a short growing season.
- Optimum
- 20~30℃
- Range
- 10~38℃
- Hardiness
- Not hardy
- Day length
- Short-day
A summer grain that stands up to heat and finishes in a short growing period of about 100 days. It is a short-day plant, heading as the days draw in, so it still comes good in autumn even when sown late. It endures dry ground, waterlogged ground and even salty ground, filling the places where other grains cannot be grown. Frost kills it.
In Korea Nationwide
On mountain fields and fallow plots it is sown in May–June and cut in September–October. Around paddy fields the seed spreads and turns weedy, so the planting site is chosen with care.
How to grow
- Light
- Five hours of sun a day is enough. Stronger light fills the grain better
- Soil and depth
- Almost indifferent to soil. It handles dry ground and waterlogged ground alike, which makes it useful on poor patches
- Spacing
- Drill in rows 30cm apart, then thin to 10 to 15cm between plants
- Watering
- Nothing to do through the rainy season. Water once or twice only if a long dry spell hits as the heads emerge
- Feeding
- One base dressing of compost is enough. Heavy nitrogen makes it tall and soft, and it goes over in wind and rain
- Harvest
- Cut in September and October, when the heads have yellowed evenly and the grain feels hard between the fingers. Waiting for full ripeness costs you seed to shattering, so cut at around eighty per cent, dry for a few days and thresh. The hull is hard enough that a huller is needed before the grain can be cooked
What makes the difference. Dropped seed comes up all over the plot the following year. Going over the cut area and its edges once to gather fallen heads saves a great deal of weeding next season
Why this one is harder. Think twice before sowing near a paddy or a neighbour's field. The seed spreads easily and survives years in the soil, and it becomes a paddy weed. Growing a few plants in a pot or crate, where the seed cannot travel, is one way around it
Common problems
- Asian corn borer You will see Holes low on the stem with sawdust-like frass, and wilting above the entry point What to do Pull and discard affected stems, and clear the stubble from the plot after harvest
- Planthoppers and leafhoppers You will see Small insects massing at the stem base with leaves yellowing above What to do Space plants widely for airflow; if it worsens, use an approved low-toxicity spray
- Sparrows and other birds You will see Heads stripped after emergence, leaving only empty husks What to do Net the crop as the heads bow over. Minor grains ripen before rice, so the birds concentrate on them
This page describes how a crop is grown and used. It does not claim health effects for any food, nor is it intended to prevent or treat disease. Component and study notes are references only and do not mean the same result occurs in people. Consult a medical professional about health concerns.
Health Benefits
What the Donguibogam records — nature, taste and rank among the eight grains. The Donguibogam lists this grain in the Grain section as jikmi, glossed in Korean as pissal. It records a cold nature, a sweet taste and no toxicity, and adds a caution against eating a great deal of it. The same entry names the eight grains — seo, jik, do, ryang, hwa, ma, suk and maek — and puts jik at the bottom of the list, while a passage quoted afterwards from the Ipmun calls it ogokjijang, the chief of the five grains, leaving two verdicts side by side in one entry. This is a historical medical record and differs from modern medical judgment.
What the record says about the name. The Donguibogam states that 稷 is another name for 穄, resembling broomcorn millet but with smaller grain. 稷米 is rendered today as Japanese millet, though some readers take it for proso millet instead, and old grain names rarely pin down to a single species. This is a record about nomenclature.
Compositional reports. Analyses of minor grains including Japanese millet report higher fibre and mineral content than milled white rice. The same work reports that the size of the gap depends heavily on the degree of milling. These are compositional analyses and have nothing to do with preventing or treating disease.
Nutrition
- Dietary fibre (reported higher than milled white rice) — polysaccharides concentrated in the grain coat
- Protein (around 10g per 100g of dried grain in reported figures) — cereal protein at a level typical of minor grains
- Iron, magnesium and other minerals (reported higher the less the hull is polished away) — minerals concentrated in the outer layers
- No gluten (lacks the gluten proteins of wheat and barley) — dough will not rise, so it goes into rice and porridge
Hull and milling The hull is hard and takes real work to remove. Milling lightly leaves most of the fibre and minerals held in the coat, but the cooked grain stays coarse. Milling white gives a softer result and takes those components away with the bran. For mixing into rice, use lightly milled grain and add a generous amount of water.
Why it never turns sticky The Donguibogam recorded that cooked as rice this grain is not sticky and tastes plain. In modern terms it sits at the low end for amylopectin, the fraction that makes rice cling, so the grains stay separate. That is why it is usually mixed into rice at 10 to 20 per cent rather than cooked alone. In porridge the same trait is an advantage.
A grain without gluten Japanese millet has none of the gluten proteins found in wheat and barley. Dough made from it will not rise, so its uses run to cooked grain, porridge and roasted grain powder. It is one of the minor grains named when people avoiding gluten want to widen their options. Milling and processing on shared wheat equipment can still introduce traces, so labels are worth reading.
Pairings
○ White rice — Cooked alone the grains fall apart for lack of stickiness. Mixed into rice at 10 to 20 per cent it adds bite while the rice still holds together. The seed is small and hard, so soak it for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
○ Beans, adzuki and other grains — In a mixed-grain pot the cooking times line up well. Soak the beans and adzuki ahead, rinse the millet and add it at the same time. Nothing here has a dominant flavour, so no ingredient is crowded out. Adzuki Bean · Soybean
○ Porridge and roasted grain powder — The non-sticky texture is an advantage in porridge. It is less prone to catching on the bottom over a long simmer. Roasted and finely ground, it goes into misugaru powder.
△ Plots next to paddies or a neighbour's field — The seed shatters readily and survives several years in the soil. Near a rice paddy or someone else's field it will spread on its own and become their weed problem. Harvest as soon as the heads fill, and clear the stubble and any dropped heads from the cut area. Starting with a few plants in a pot or crate is the cautious route.
△ Barely milled grain — With the hull hard and largely intact, poorly milled grain passes through undigested. Soak it well and cook it through with plenty of water. Anyone with a delicate stomach should start with a spoonful or two in the pot rather than a large share.
△ Damp grain and mould — The seed is small, so damp grain clumps together and moulds quickly. Dry it hard, store it in a sealed container and keep it somewhere cool. Grain that smells sour or musty cannot be rinsed back into use — discard it.
Varieties
- Cultivated landrace (seed) — The form sown for grain. Upright heads, plumper seed, and it holds rather than shatters
- Barnyard grass (dolpi) (seed) — The volunteer weedy form of fields and roadsides. Tiny seed that shatters the moment it ripens. Not a crop to sow
- Paddy barnyard grass (mulpi) (seed) — The weedy form of flooded paddies, nearly identical to young rice and a notorious nuisance. Not a crop to sow
- Forage types (seed) — Grown for the whole plant as livestock feed rather than grain. Tall and leafy
Source: Donguibogam, Grain Section 稷米 · Rural Development Administration (Nongsaro) · Korean Food Composition Table