Invasive Japanese Knotweed Vegan Chutney

If you’re looking to add a little sweet, a little sour, and a touch of spicy to your life, you’ll love this Japanese knotweed chutney! This vegan chutney is made with an invasive species (in the US), easy for beginners to forage, which acts as the perfect base to this flavorful sauce. The sour flavor in Japanese knotweed is countered with garlic, onions, ginger, and brown sugar, and then the sauce is studded with golden raisins, making it the most delicious invasive species condiment you’ve ever had. For a delicious meal, add to a vegan burger (like the image below!)

Click Here for a Print-Friendly Recipe

Japanese Knotweed: Invasive Species

I’ve cooked a lot with Japanese knotweed- in part, that’s because I am completely surrounded by it most of the time. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been surrounded by Japanese Knotweed. The green and red, spicy, bamboo-like shoots surround my house and the conservation lands around it, despite constant efforts to rid the land of knotweed. Like any successful invasive species, Japanese knotweed is able to out-grow native species of plant, changing the landscape into a sea of knotweed stalks. There are places in the world (such as Japan) where knotweed is eaten and sold like any vegetable. Please note, that while the stalks are delicious, the leaves are poisonous and should be avoided.

Disclaimer- use caution when foraging wild edibles, and always be certain of your identification. While I assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided on this site, I can’t responsible for the accuracy of your information. Consult multiple websites, books and local experts, and when it doubt, do without.

Knotweed Identification

Japanese knotweed is a good beginner edible, because it’s plentiful and fairly easy to recognize. As it grows older, Japanese knotweed becomes woody and can easily grow 6 or more feet tall, and develops flowers. It is best eaten young, however, early in the spring when it is around 12 inches in height. Knotweed grows from hollow stalks, segmented and is bamboo-like in appearance. The leaves and stems often begin red, and become more green as they grow. The leaves are simple and hairless. The stalks are edible although will become woody and inedible with age, but the leaves should be avoided. The young stalks taste a little like rhubarb, and are crunchy, juicy, and tart, and can be used in the same dishes you would put rhubarb in. The flavor is a little more lemony, with wild grass-like notes.

Japanese Knotweed Removal

One of the reasons Japanese knotweed is so successful is that clearing it from an area permanently is incredibly difficult. While the above ground stalks can be pulled, there is a much bigger problem that is harder to address- the roots. The roots of Japanese knotweed can creep as much as 10 feet below the surface, making pulling them a practical impossibility. From those deeply buried roots, regrowth of the removed stems is easily possible. So how can knotweed be controlled? There are a few methods that might work. Removing the plants (and eating them!) is a good first step, although its unlikely to solve the problem entirely. Make sure that when you do remove plants, you don’t compost the leaves and stems- or if you do, blast them in the microwave first. The other commonly used method is with chemical herbicides, although even those can take several years to be effective. If you’re eating Japanese knotweed, do make sure that chemicals have not been sprayed in that area.

Eat the Invaders: Japanese Knotweed and Other Invasive Species Recipes

• Strawberry and Japanese Knotweed Crisp
• Sour Japanese Knotweed Soup
• Spring Garlic Mustard & Dandelion Green Vegan Frittatas
• Wild Garlic Mustard Tartlets
• Japanese Knotweed Salsa

Making, Gifting, and Eating Vegan Chutney

You know what I love? Food in jars. I actually do a lot of pickling, preserving, and canning, although at this point I haven’t shared many recipes here. That’s in part because my preserving is highly experimental, and I haven’t really sorted out many recipes. Most are just a free-form spice and vegetable concoctions, some of which end up better than others (let’s not forget the exploding butternut squash incident, before I was paying much attention to the acidity of my recipes). But I’ve been trying to be more methodical with my recipes, and so hopefully I’ll have more of them to share here. Because nothing is better than giving and receiving food gifts! This invasive knotweed chutney would be the perfect present, and a great conversation starter.

Making vegan chutney isn’t hard- its all about mixing savory flavors and spices (onion, garlic, cumin) with sweet ones (brown sugar, nutmeg, raisins), and letting the knotweed shine through with sour notes. I’ve decided to add knotweed at two different points in my recipe- once in the beginning, and again closer to the end. This allows the first batch of knotweed to cook down, creating a thick sauce, and lets the second smaller batch remain more firm, giving you chunks (you can just add it all at once, if you’re not a chunky chutney type of person).

Once the chutney is jarred, it should last up to 6 months on the shelf if the jar was sealed properly. The vegan chutney can be added to all manner of veggie burger or sandwich, served as an appetizer with crackers, or served alongside curries and Indian food.

Invasive Japanese Knotweed Vegan Chutney

Click Here for a Print-Friendly Recipe

Let’s hear from you…

• Do you have a Japanese knotweed removal problem? Have you been able to deal with it at all?
• What other invasive species do you like to eat?
• How do use chutney? As well as on my Beyond Burger (pictured), we’ve been adding it to sandwiches and eating it on crackers, but I would love some more ideas!

Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Like this post? Pin it!