In my sunny south-facing garden, the red shiso or perilla is having a great time and forms big bushy shrubs. I love the fragrant foliage of this Japanese herb and use it in my cooking often.
Now that the cold nights are approaching, it’s time to pick the leaves and make something tasty out of them. The plant will not survive the winter! I made beautiful deep red shiso syrup and fragrant shiso vinegar. Bonus: after preparing the syrup and vinegar, you can use the leaves to make yukkari to sprinkle over your bowl of rice.
These recipes are classic Japanese recipes and you will them in recipe books and online with many variations. Every Japanese cook will have their own special way to make these late summer and early autumn recipes.
If you don’t grow shiso in your garden, check out Japanese shops or Asian supermarkets. They often sell shiso leaves.
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red shiso syrup / aka shiso syrup
for ± 1 liter / 4 cups
± 100 g / ± 3 1/2 oz shiso leaves
200 – 225 g / 1 cup sugar + extra to taste
100 ml / 1/2 cup rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar or other mild vinegar (or more to taste)
Bring 1 liter of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the shiso leaves and let it boil gently for ± 5 minutes. Remove the leaves from the water and press out as much moisture as possible over a bowl in a sieve. Return the squeezed liquid to the pan. Save the leaves to dry for Yukkari.
Add the sugar (add some extra if you like a sweet lemonade) and vinegar and bring to the boil, stirring. Keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved and pour the hot liquid into a clean sterilized bottle. Let cool.
Serve with sparkling water and ice cubes.
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red shiso vinegar / aka shiso vinegar
variation 1
for ± 250 ml / 1 cup
± 50 g / 1 3/4 oz red shiso leaves
pinch of salt
250 ml / 1/4 cup rice vinegar, cider vinegar or other mild vinegar
Massage the shiso leaves with the salt. Put in a jar with the vinegar and let it rest tightly closed in the refrigerator for ± 3 weeks. Remove the leaves, press out all the liquid in a sieve over a bowl and pour the liquid back into the pot with the rest of the vinegar. Make yukkari from the leftover leaves (see below).
Delicious in dressings, over rice and in pickles.
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red shiso vinegar / aka shiso vinegar
variation 2
for ± 250 ml
± 50 g / 1 3/4 ozred shiso leaves
pinch of salt
250 ml / 1/4 cup rice vinegar, cider vinegar or other mild vinegar
Massage the shiso leaves with the salt. Place in a saucepan with the vinegar and bring to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and allow to cool and infuse with the leaves. Remove the leaves, squeeze out all the moisture in a sieve over a bowl. Return the liquid to the jar or transfer it to a bottle with the rest of the vinegar. Make yukkari from the leftover leaves (see below).
Delicious in dressings, over rice and in pickles.
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Yukkari
If you have made syrup, first sprinkle some apple cider vinegar over the squeezed leaves. If you’ve made shiso vinegar, you don’t have to. Spread the leaves on a rack. Dry them in a food dryer or oven on a rack at ± 50ºC. Grind them and season with salt.
Sprinkle some yukkari over your rice.
