100 Shiso Recipes - Cook with Confidence with This New Culinary Craze (2024)

FAQs

What does shiso pair well with? ›

The herb pairs well with fatty fish like salmon, yellowtail, and tuna, and can be enjoyed by wrapping a whole leaf around a piece of sashimi and dipping it in soy sauce. Shiso also complements vegetables and fruits. Julienned shiso leaves are often mixed with salads to add a fresh, citrusy flavor.

Shiso is an aromatic herb commonly used in Japanese dishes such as sushi, salads, tempura, noodles, etc. It has a unique fragrance and flavor loved by the Japanese. Shiso (しそ, 紫蘇) is the most popular culinary herb used in Japanese cuisine and is considered one of its seven main flavorings.

Ways to Use Shiso

Fresh as a garnish with sushi or sashimi, and wrapped around balls of rice or meat. Try it with tofu. Surprisingly good slivered in pasta and noodle dishes. Try making shiso pesto too!

Perilla is actually the term for a number of different species of plants in the mint family. The Japanese use shiso, which is smaller and mintier than the broad, rounded perilla leaves favored by the Koreans. The flavor of perilla, grassy with notes of anise or licorice, is pleasing like any other herb.

It is used to garnish noodle dishes like hiyamugi or sōmen, meat dishes like sashimi, tataki and namerō, and tofu dishes like hiyayakko. Whitebait (shirasu) sashimi is often garnished with green shiso. Whole leaves are also used as receptacles to hold wasabi, or tsuma (garnishes).

“Shiso® Green has some typical roasted, nutty notes linking very well to (shell)fish, rice, beef. The floral, rose and peach notes of Shiso® Green make a perfect match to citrus, Cointreau and Gin.”

Since shiso naturally repels insects as it a part of the mint family, it does not attract any and will not cause harm to other plants near it in this regard. However, shiso may be apt to get Downey mildew. For this reason, it is important to ensure that it has ample space in the garden and is not overwatered.

Shred the shiso leaves and place them on the bottom half of a piece of paper towel. Fold over the top half of the paper towel to wrap the shiso leaves. Fold the paper towel with the shiso inside a few times, put it in a freezer bag and freeze it. The frozen shiso leaves are hard and crunchy.

What Does It Taste Like? Shiso leaves have a fresh, citrusy flavor with hints of cinnamon, cloves, and mint. They have a somewhat astringent flavor and bitter finish, particularly the red shiso leaves. The texture is similar to fresh mint leaves, while dried shiso has a more subdued flavor.

Shiso leaves do not stay fresh at room temperature very long because they dry out very easily, but you can extend the life of your fresh shiso (to about four days) by placing them in the refrigerator, preferably inside a damp cloth to keep them moist.

How long does fresh shiso keep? ›

To store the leaves, wrap the unwashed leaves in a moistened paper towel or a sealed plastic bag and keep in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for no more than four days.

Shelf Life:

Up to five days fresh. Shiso leaves pair very well with soy based sauces and dressings. In Japan they are a traditional accompaniment to raw fish (particularly sashimi), used in salads, or fried as tempura. Shiso leaves can also be pickled (how to quick pickle).

NOTE: Shiso leaves are toxic to cows, dogs and other livestock. However, the perilla red and purple forms are used in pickling to give your Japanese sour plum pickle a violet tinge. Even more interesting, the baby leaves make a superb garnish.

There are two varieties of shiso leaves that are red and green, both having a distinct taste and aroma. However, the most commonly used in cooking is the green shiso leaf.

In America it is called Chinese basil and perilla mint, but as Japanese cuisine becomes more popular here, more are calling it shiso. Because it originally came to America as an ornamental, it is sometimes called summer coleus. It's called beefsteak plant because the darkest varieties are as red as steak.

If you ordered "Shiso" in a Japanese restaurant, you would be served Japanese Mint. Shiso is a herb commonly used in Japanese cuisine, known for its refreshing and mint-like flavor. It is often used as a garnish or added to dishes for its aromatic qualities.

SHISO, an herb long used in Japanese cooking, is starting to show up in restaurants of all kinds whose chefs are captivated by its strong flavor. It has a mysterious, bright taste that reminds people of mint, basil, tarragon, cilantro, cinnamon, anise or the smell of a mountain meadow after a rainstorm.

Shiso leaves are an aromatic herb from the same botanical family as mint that traditionally accompanies sushi and sashimi.

A member of the mint family, shiso has a unique flavor similar to basil and cilantro with subtle hints of cumin and cloves. Also known as beefsteak plant, shiso is a common garnish in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese cooking.