Known as "Dallae" (doll-eh) in Korea, this wild chive is endemic to the country's mountainous regions and tastes like a cross among leek, garlic, and chive. The 1/4" bulb is sweeter than the upper stems and leaves which are also edible and have a sharper flavor, and scapes are short and have a pungent but nectary finish not unlike chive blossoms. All parts of this unique allium exhibit a distinct, difficult-to-describe herbaceous finish--perhaps "wild" for lack of a better word.
Dallae is often pickled ("Jjang-aji") and served as banchan or chopped and added as a finish to hearty Korean stews such as a the savory and nutty fermented bean paste stew "Dwen-Jang-Jjigae."
Although it is often translated "Sand Leek," the Korean Dallae (allium monanthum) should not be confused with other European alliums bearing the same translation as the term frequently refers to varying alliums such as rocambole (allium scorodoprasum).
