Tangaek — Decoctions · Vegetables
葉 Auk Ip (아욱 잎)
Mallow leaf is the leaf of the mallow, an annual herb of the mallow family — the same leaf used in aukguk, Korea's traditional mallow soup. The Dongui Bogam praises it as the foremost of all vegetables, noting that when prepared as namul (a lightly seasoned vegetable dish), it is very sweet and delicious.
The entry appears in the Vegetables section (chaebu, 菜部) of the text, listed under mallow seed (donggyuja) directly after the root. It records no nature and flavor (seongmi) — the traditional-medicine profile describing whether a substance warms or cools the body and how it tastes — and no notes on how the leaf should be handled or prepared.
Mallow sown in autumn overwinters and sends up its flower stalk the following spring, so the leaves are picked before the plant bolts.
Original, read line by line 東醫寶鑑 · Tangaek — Decoctions vol. 2
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爲百菜主. 作菜茹, 甚甘美, 能宣導積壅氣. 《本草》
It ranks first among the hundred vegetables. Made into a cooked green it is very sweet and tasty, and it can spread and lead out qi that has piled up and blocked. 《Boncho (本草)》
HomiclubMallow leaves are rounded with five to seven shallow lobes and finely crimped edges. Kneading them under water raises a green froth, which is the plant's characteristic mucilage.
Vegetables — more entries
This is a cultural and historical record from a classical text, not a claim about any food’s effects. Nothing here is a health supplement or intended to prevent or treat disease. Consult a medical professional about health concerns. · Text: Korean Medicine Classics DB · Reading: Homiclub