Shiso/Perilla

[BreezyCooking]

Anyone here grow & use it?

It's naturalized throughout Virginia, & I have dozens & dozens of plants coming up all over the place on my property.

While I've used it as a garnish for Japanese dishes - especially sushi platters - & have chopped small amounts into salads, I was wondering if there was anything else I could use it for?

 

[ironchef]

Shiso is a great herb, and gives dishes a unique flavor that most people won't be able to put a finger on, but they're wondering about it the entire time they are eating it. You can add it to cold sauces, hot sauces, sear with it, marinate with it, etc. Treat it as you would basil or mint in it's usage. I would not combine it with other herbs because the flavors will clash. It's one of those herbs that is better left on it's own:

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f16/shichimi-seared-ahi-with-truffled-ginger-shiso-vinaigrette-2126.html?highlight=shiso

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f76/ponzu-shiso-remoulade-12277.html?highlight=shiso

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f104/4-26-special-duo-of-tuna-and-yellowtail-21721.html?highlight=shiso

http://seafood.allrecipes.com/az/SsmCrstdMhiMhiwithSyShisGi.asp

 

[BreezyCooking]

Thanks!! Except for sushi, I never thought of pairing it with cooked fish or in sauces!!

I don't know if the cultivated varieties are different, but the wild types I have growing here (both green & green with a purplish cast) have a mild anise/mint scent/taste.

 

[ironchef]

The green shiso usually has a more intense flavor than the red/purple shiso which tends to be more mild. There's also the Korean varitey of shiso which has larger leaves than the Japanese variety. The Korean shiso is also stronger in flavor.

 

[Loprraine]

I'm growing it for the first time. A friend sent some seeds from Hong Kong. She uses it the way I would basil. Breezy, strange, I sent some seeds to a friend in Stanardsville. When I was there a few weeks ago, his plants were much nicer than mine.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Lol - depending on what her property is like, she probably has them growing wild in the area & just doesn't know it. I literally have it everywhere every year. I leave one patch to harvest for eating & pull the rest up like weeds. It's a pretty common "weed" in Virginia, growing in both full sun & deep shade - very adaptable. Plants in full sun reach about 2 feet; the ones in the shade, while more numerous, stay about a foot.

 

[Loprraine]

He's at an old Inn. I'll tell Chef to tell the gradener. Maybe they have it and just don't know!

 

[gremolata]

shiso, grows wild and you don't know ot!

sounds likke Nipotella, the herb that grows wild in italy and is so much in thier cooking you don't know its there only when it is not!!!!

not the same as our mint...more mellow and special..nipatella!! grows wild by the road, though of course you would not eat anything
wild by the road and of course you would not eat anything that grows near a high way..exhaust from cars would be toxic to you.

i learned about this as a student (culinary) in italy.

 

[bjcotton]

Lorraine shared some of those seeds with me. They are coming up but have very delicate [read skinny, thin] stalks. I will probably start some of them in the garden next year instead of inside.