Some years ago I found an interesting herb garnish on my salad in a Vietnamese restaurant. I didn’t recognise it but my mother, the green thumb in our family who couldn’t identify it either, suggested that I take it home and stick it in a glass of water. I did and roots sprouted. Now, I have a garden that is verdant with perilla, similar to the shiso often found in Japanese dishes. It grows, bolts to seed and regrows. I pull it out by the handful, like weeds.
Determined to make better use of the bounty, I experimented and came up with a kimchi and a pesto-like condiment. Both will add a bit of savoury intrigue to an Asian meal. Try them on plain rice, grilled seafood and meats, steamed vegetables or dumplings.
Caren
PERILLA KIMCHI
120 gm fresh perilla leaves
150 ml gluten-free soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
1 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 fresh small chillies, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onion
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon boiling water
Sterilise 2 medium glass jars with tight fitting lids.
Wash and dry the perilla leaves.
In a large bowl combine all the other ingredients.
Add the leaves and toss gently to the mix covers all the leaves.
Put the kimchi into the 2 glass jars. Cover and refrigerate for up to a week.
PERILLA AND BASIL CONDIMENT
30 gm fresh perilla leaves
30 gm fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove, chopped
20 gm sliced almond, lightly toasted in a pan
50 ml grape seed oil, plus extra.
½ teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste.
Sterilise a small glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Wash and dry the leaves.
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until it is a loose paste, like a traditional pesto. Spoon the mixture into the jar. Cover thinly with some oil.
Refrigerate. Will keep for a week or two.