Sesame Leaves

[Jason Perlow]

Last night we had a rather unusual variation of Bibimbap at a korean restaurant -- in addition to beef and vegetables and rice, it had "Sesame Leaves" in it. It had sort of a tobacco-like flavor to it.

Are sesame leaves used in other cuisines besides Korean?

Here's a sesame leaf appetizer recipe I found on the web:

http://www.koreankitchen.com/kkaetnipjolim.htm

Deep fried beef rolled in sesame leaves:

http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/kkaennipm...pmaritwigim.htm

[fifi]

I have to confess that I didn't even know there was such a thing as sesame leaves used as an ingredient. that is fascinating. (I just had an alarming realization. I don't know what a sesame plant even looks like. Going googling.)

[Jinmyo]

I've had sesame leaf kimchi.

[jrufusj]

Sesame leaves (²¢ÀÙ or kkaetip) are used in a number of ways. They are often part of the assortment of leafy vegetables that are served with many kinds of grilled meat. The meat is rolled in the leaf to be eate.

As Jinmyo mentioned, sesame leaves can also be made into kimchi. Traditionally, sesame leaf kimchi is a summer kimchi. There are two versions that I know. First is the ordinary one:

6 lbs. sesame leaves

2 gal. water

7 ozs. course salt

4 ozs. rice porridge

4 ozs. myeolchi jeotgal (Korean fermented fish sauce/paste)

2 ozs. coarse dry chili flakes

1 oz. gochugaru (Korean chili powder)

3 oz. chopped garlic

1 oz. chopped ginger

3 ozs. scallions, sliced on the bias into 1/4 - 1/2 in. pieces

1 oz. chili threads

Bundle about 25 leaves together and tie at stem end.

Dip in brine of 3 ozs. salt dissolved in all the water.

Mix all ingredients except 2 ozs. salt and press bundles well into seasoning.

Lay bundles flat in bottom of kimchi jar and layer until finished.

Cover with loose leaves and remaining salt, then weight down.

Age in refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

The second sesame leaf kimchi is often made with shiso leaves as well. It is a rolled, stuffed kimchi:

1 lb. sesame (or shiso) leaves

3 ozs. salt

5 lbs. radish (Korean radish -- like daikon), julienned

2 ozs. chopped garlic

1 oz. chopped ginger

3 ozs. gochugaru

4 ozs. clear myeolchi jeotgal

2 ozs. rice porridge

4 ozs. minari, in 2 inch lengths

4 ozs. kat (Indian mustard leaves), in 2 in. strips

4 ozs. scallion, split and in 2 in. pieces

4 ozs. dae pa (Chinese leek), in 2 in. pieces

8 ozs. western onion, julienned

1 oz. sliced chestnut

1 oz. chili threads

Rinse sesame leaves and slat with about 1 oz. salt. Let stand 1/2 - 1 hour.

Toss radish with 2 oz. salt to wilt for about 1/2 - 1 hour.

Mix garlic, ginger, gochugaru, jeotgal, and rice porridge into sauce.

Toss radish, minari, kat, scallion, leek, onion with above sauce mix.

Put a little of the vegetable mix on sesame leaf and roll.

Layer rolls in kimchi jar, cover with loose leaves, and weight down.

Can be aged a little or eaten fresh.

Sesame leaves can also be used in other vegetable preparations.

Kkaetip saengjeoli:

Rinse 100 grams of sesame leaves.

Prepare seasoning (yangnyeom), consisting of

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. gochugaru

2 pods green chili, chopped

3 pods red chili, chopped

1/4 medium western onion, minced

1/2 spring onion, sliced crosswise in small pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 finger ginger, minced

Layer leaves with yangnyeom and allow to marinate briefly.

Serve as side dish (banchan).

Kkaetip jjim:

Rinse 60 grams sesame leaves

Prepare yangnyeom, consisting of

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 Tbsp. gochugaru

2 pods green chili, chopped

2 pods red chili, chopped

1/4 western onion, chopped

1/2 spring onion, sliced crosswise in small pieces

1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. minced ginger

1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil

Heat yangnyeom in saucepan (don't boil), add sesame leaves, and stir to coat.

Heat sesame leaves in yangnyeom just until they wilt.

Serve as banchan.

Note on recipes:

The quantities for the kimchi recipes are much bigger than for the banchan, because kimchi is normally made and aged in large batches to last through a season. The rolled, stuffed one is in smaller quantities as it requires (and benefits from) less aging.

Banchan are normally made a la minute, so they are in much smaller quantities.

Traditionally, kimchi is aged in the ground in great buried pots. Today, it is often aged in special kimchi refrigerator. These are not kept as cold as your ordinary home refrigerator, but you can still use your normal fridge. The kimchis will simply mature more slowly. For kimchis where fermentation is very important, you might start them in a cool room for a few days to a week before putting them in the fridge.

Enjoy,

Jim

[aprilmei]

Sesame leaves look like large shiso leaves but the taste is very different, quite mild in comparison.

[torakris]

Sesame leaves look like large shiso leaves but the taste is very different, quite mild in comparison.

That is interesting I find the shiso leaves to be milder.

I make a small batch of this kimchi a couple times a year.

It is very easy to grow, I have 2 bushes of it in my backyard.

It is also wonderful as a wrapping with onigiri (rice balls), especially grilled ones spread with some kojuchang......yum!

[helenas]

In her Vegetables book Elisabeth Schneider suggests to blanch sesame leaves to be used as wrappers.

Do you find this necessary?

[Jinmyo]

Well, why not? It's easy enough to do.

[helenas]

I was not trying to save on labor - just afraid of losing on flavor

[Jinmyo]

Oh. Well check out the thickness of the veins. Roll one up and bite into it. What do you think? Go from there.

[Tkrup]

Sesame leaves (²¢ÀÙ or kkaetip) are used in a number of ways.  They are often part of the assortment of leafy vegetables that are served with many kinds of grilled meat.  The meat is rolled in the leaf to be eate.

As Jinmyo mentioned, sesame leaves can also be made into kimchi.  Traditionally, sesame leaf kimchi is a summer kimchi.  There are two versions that I know.  First is the ordinary one:

6 lbs. sesame leaves

2 gal. water

7 ozs. course salt

4 ozs. rice porridge

4 ozs. myeolchi jeotgal (Korean fermented fish sauce/paste)

2 ozs. coarse dry chili flakes

1 oz. gochugaru (Korean chili powder)

3 oz. chopped garlic

1 oz. chopped ginger

3 ozs. scallions, sliced on the bias into 1/4 - 1/2 in. pieces

1 oz. chili threads

Bundle about 25 leaves together and tie at stem end. 

Dip in brine of 3 ozs. salt dissolved in all the water.

Mix all ingredients except 2 ozs. salt and press bundles well into seasoning.

Lay bundles flat in bottom of kimchi jar and layer until finished.

Cover with loose leaves and remaining salt, then weight down.

Age in refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

The second sesame leaf kimchi is often made with shiso leaves as well.  It is a rolled, stuffed kimchi:

1 lb. sesame (or shiso) leaves

3 ozs. salt

5 lbs. radish (Korean radish -- like daikon), julienned

2 ozs. chopped garlic

1 oz. chopped ginger

3 ozs. gochugaru

4 ozs. clear myeolchi jeotgal

2 ozs. rice porridge

4 ozs. minari, in 2 inch lengths

4 ozs. kat (Indian mustard leaves), in 2 in. strips

4 ozs. scallion, split and in 2 in. pieces

4 ozs. dae pa (Chinese leek), in 2 in. pieces

8 ozs. western onion, julienned

1 oz. sliced chestnut

1 oz. chili threads

Rinse sesame leaves and slat with about 1 oz. salt.  Let stand 1/2 - 1 hour.

Toss radish with 2 oz. salt to wilt for about 1/2 - 1 hour.

Mix garlic, ginger, gochugaru, jeotgal, and rice porridge into sauce.

Toss radish, minari, kat, scallion, leek, onion with above sauce mix.

Put a little of the vegetable mix on sesame leaf and roll.

Layer rolls in kimchi jar, cover with loose leaves, and weight down.

Can be aged a little or eaten fresh.

Sesame leaves can also be used in other vegetable preparations.

Kkaetip saengjeoli:

Rinse 100 grams of sesame leaves.

Prepare seasoning (yangnyeom), consisting of

4 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. gochugaru

2 pods green chili, chopped

3 pods red chili, chopped

1/4 medium western onion, minced

1/2 spring onion, sliced crosswise in small pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 finger ginger, minced

Layer leaves with yangnyeom and allow to marinate briefly.

Serve as side dish (banchan).

Kkaetip jjim:

Rinse 60 grams sesame leaves

Prepare yangnyeom, consisting of

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

1/2 Tbsp. gochugaru

2 pods green chili, chopped

2 pods red chili, chopped

1/4 western onion, chopped

1/2 spring onion, sliced crosswise in small pieces

1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. minced ginger

1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil

Heat yangnyeom in saucepan (don't boil), add sesame leaves, and stir to coat.

Heat sesame leaves in yangnyeom just until they wilt.

Serve as banchan.

Note on recipes:

The quantities for the kimchi recipes are much bigger than for the banchan, because kimchi is normally made and aged in large batches to last through a season.  The rolled, stuffed one is in smaller quantities as it requires (and benefits from) less aging.

Banchan are normally made a la minute, so they are in much smaller quantities.

Traditionally, kimchi is aged in the ground in great buried pots.  Today, it is often aged in special kimchi refrigerator.  These are not kept as cold as your ordinary home refrigerator, but you can still use your normal fridge.  The kimchis will simply mature more slowly.  For kimchis where fermentation is very important, you might start them in a cool room for a few days to a week before putting them in the fridge.

Enjoy,

Jim

←

MMMMMM....kkenip

None of the Korean Restaraunts around here use them for their SSam Kyup SSal. I really miss them.

"Dreamy and far away look on face"

[chefzadi]

My MIL seasons steamed rice with sesame oil and sesame salt, shapes the rice into logs and wraps them with fresh (unblached) sesame leaves. I don't really care for them, but I've yet to meet a Korean who has tried them who didn't find them addictive.

[melonpan]

okie dokie.

take fresh ggaetnip. roll up cleaned leaves into a log, then slice into strips.

add them in the last three minutes of cooking kimchi fried rice. yes, just fry them up with the rest of your ingredients.

refreshingly different.

[SheenaGreena]

I eat them raw with nothing else once in a while. They have a really "refreshing" taste and are great rolled up in kimbap with seaweed.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I eat them raw with nothing else once in a while.  They have a really "refreshing" taste and are great rolled up in kimbap with seaweed.

←

Me too!!! this is absolutely the best way to enjoy the flavor of these very nice ..yes perfect way to say it they are totally "refreshing" tasting leaves!!!

I am going to grow these I have just decided! ..how big do they get? I wonder does anyone know if I can start them in pots now this late in the summer? then if they do well would I be able to winter them as a house plant?

or just wait and try seeding them in the early spring?

Sheena how does your mom grown them? I should check your blog!!! maybe you mentioned how to grow them and I missed it if not would you? please

our climate is pretty temporate here...

I have a new diversion ..I just love this board!

Edited July 17, 2007 by hummingbirdkiss (log)

[SheenaGreena]

check my other thread.........

I bet korean sesame leaves would be great with some booze. Also you should try wrapping them around raw slices of fish, which is how they are eaten in korea. You can dip the fish into a sweetened, vinegared, version of gochujang or just eat it as is with the fish. Also, try stirring in the leaves at the last moment of some hot and spicy soup

[sanrensho]

I am going to grow these I have just decided! ..how big do they get?  I wonder does anyone know if I can start them in pots now this late in the summer? then if they do well would I be able to winter them as a house plant?

I'm not Sheena, but you should be able to keep a pot going over winter provided you have a sunny window, although my experience is with shiso and not sesame leaves (same family, perilla).

[hummingbirdkiss]

I am going to grow these I have just decided! ..how big do they get?  I wonder does anyone know if I can start them in pots now this late in the summer? then if they do well would I be able to winter them as a house plant?

I'm not Sheena, but you should be able to keep a pot going over winter provided you have a sunny window, although my experience is with shiso and not sesame leaves (same family, perilla).

←

ok one more question do I just put fresh not toasted of course sesame seeds in dirt I wonder? I have done that with mustard greens and grown them from mustard seeds I had in the spice cabinet and cilantro from coriander I wonder if I use fresh sesame seeds they are no hulled I imagine?

anyone know?

[GlorifiedRice]

Its not the same plant

SEED:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesame_seed

LEAF:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perilla

[sanrensho]

ok one more question do I just put fresh not toasted of course   sesame seeds in dirt I wonder? I have done that with mustard greens and grown them from mustard seeds I had in the spice cabinet and cilantro from coriander I wonder if I use fresh sesame seeds they are no hulled I imagine?

anyone know?

Sesame leaves actually have nothing to do with sesame or sesame seed. As I understand it, it is just translated that way to reflect the Korean name.

Sesame leaves=Korean perilla (larger leaves, less pungent)

Shiso=Japanese perilla (smaller leaves, green and red varieties, more pungent)

I know that shiso plants can often be bought at gardening centers. We can get them up here, so I'm sure you can get them in the Seattle area. Perilla seed is supposed to be slightly difficult to sprout from seed, so it is recommended that you soak the seeds first.

[sanrensho]

Also, if you can locate an H Mart (Han Ah Reum), that might be a good place to look for seeds and possibly plants. Although it's kind of late to look for plants.

[hummingbirdkiss]

well I feel completely stupid! yes we have H mart and a Paldo world we have TONS of wonderful Korean food malls and markets between Tacoma and Federal Way

I will make a trip on Thursday to see ...I have gotten pepper plants at the family markets but never thought to ask about the sesame as again I thought they grow from sesame seeds ...

I can not believe I did not know that the leaves and the seeds were not the same family!!!

I just assumed and am glad I asked ..I love both kinds of leaves

thanks for the ideas and help I hope I can just find a plant to grow that would be wonderful ..or seeds are fine there is something very satisfying about growing stuff from seeds!

[GlorifiedRice]

Actually Perilla Oil tastes like Sesame Oil according to the Korean authorof a cookbook I have, so maybe thats why they call them sesame leaves.

[SheenaGreena]

whoops, I didn't know that you thought sesame leaves were from the same plant as sesame seeds. Don't feel bad, because I used to think the same thing when I was younger. I have no idea why they are called sesame leaves.....so it can be confusing.

[loki]

whoops, I didn't know that you thought sesame leaves were from the same plant as sesame seeds.  Don't feel bad, because I used to think the same thing when I was younger.  I have no idea why they are called sesame leaves.....so it can be confusing.

←

They are not sesame leaves it's a misstranslation that occured somewhere down the line. Probably because both Perilla and Sesame have edible seeds.

Sesamum orientale is the scientific name of sesame in the Pedaliaceae or sesame family

Perilla frutescens is the scientific name of perilla/beafsteak plant/shiso in the Lamiaceae or mint family

Perilla or Shiso would be better to use as sesame is only used for the sesame plant.

Sesame leaves are rather tasteless and tough. Every time I've encountered sesame leaves in restaurants they have been perilla leaves. I'm not even sure sesame leaves are edible.