Perilla Leaf Kimchi - Pickled Wraps

Perilla Leaf Kimchi is a popular type of Kimchi made with perilla leaves.

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The leaves look similar to Japanese Shiso leaves but taste very different! Shiso leaves are smaller and mintier than the larger, rounded perilla leaves favored by the Koreans.

Today, we will marinate the perilla leaves in a soy sauce with Korean red chili flakes, sesame oil and garlic.  A powerful mix of herbal, salty and spicy flavor in one bite.

When I was growing up, my mom would often lose her appetite due to overwork and stress. So my sister and I would visit the Korean mart and buy her a fresh batch of Perilla Leaf Kimchi. It was the one banchan that my mom could not resist - regardless of her mood. She told us that the taste of Perilla Kimchi reminded her of her mother's cooking in Korea. Over the years, I frequently ate this Kimchi with my mom and it has now become one of my favorite types of Kimchi.

Key Taste Variable: Time
Let the leaves sit in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before eating. The leaves will turn from a bright green to a dark-green as they soak in the soy sauce marinade. Don't panic - the leaves are fermenting and the flavors are coming together.

Perilla Leaf Kimchi - Herbal, salty and spicy!

Korean Perilla Kimchi is perilla leaves pickled in soy sauce and chili flakes. A satisfying mix of herbal, salty and spicy flavors in one bite.

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Course: Easy

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

• Perilla leaves - 40

Marinade

• Onion - ½ whole
• Soy sauce - 4 Tablespoons
• Fish sauce - 3 Tablespoons
• Water - 3 Tablespoons
• Korean red chili flakes - 2 Tablespoons
• Minced garlic - ½ Tablespoon
• Sugar - ½ Tablespoon
• Spring onion - 1 Tablespoon

Instructions

Prep Work

• Thoroughly wash perilla leaves. Use scissors to trim off long stems, leaving just about ~1 cm. Then, thinly slice onion into small strips.
• Take out a small mixing bowl and put in the rest of the listed ingredients to make the marinade. Then mix in the sliced onions into the marinade.

Marinate Leaves

• Take out a Tupperware which is large enough to fit a perilla leaf. Take 3 perilla leaves and place them at the bottom. Take one spoonful of the marinade and spread over the top leaf. Then stack 3 more perilla leaves on top and repeat the process. (Note: Do not spread marinade in between every leaf - will taste too salty. Rather spread it on the top of every third leaf).
• Once you use up all of the leaves, cover the Tupperware and put it in the refrigerator for at least one day.
• After one day, it should be ready to eat. Eat along with a bowl of rice. Keep leftovers in the refrigerator.

Notes

• Do not spread too much sauce on the leaves! A spoonful (max) on every third leaf.
• Also, do not dump any leftover marinade into the Tupperware. It will make the leaves turn too salty.
• Eat the Kimchi with a bowl of hot sticky rice.
• See video below for more details

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