Anybody care for Udo?

I found this veggie(called Udo) in a market stall in Takastuki. It was the first time I have seen it.

Udo is a vegetable grown for its tender, etiolated spring shoots, which are a bit like asparagus. The plant is a strong growing perennial, producing the edible shoots from the roots each spring.
Before eating, the shoots are boiled in salt water, or are sliced and soaked in cold water, to remove a turpentine like resin. They are then eaten raw as a salad or cooked.