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Perilla frutescens var. crispa, also known by its Japanese name shiso (紫蘇) from Chinese zisu, is a cultigen of Perilla frutescens, a herb in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to the mountainous regions of China and India, but is now found worldwide. The plant occurs in several forms, as defined by the characteristics of their leaves, including red, green, bicolor, and ruffled. Shiso is Perennial plant and may be cultivated as an Annual plant in temperate climates. Different parts of the plant are used in East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine.
In English, it is sometimes called the "beefsteak plant", because purple-leaf varieties resemble the blood-red color of meat., "name beefsteak plant.. from the bloody purple-red color.." Other common names include "perilla mint",Wilson et al. (1977) "Chinese basil", and "wild basil". The alias "wild coleus" or "summer coleus" probably describes ornamental varieties.Duke (1988) apud Red-leaf varieties are sometimes called "purple mint". In the Ozarks, it is called "rattlesnake weed", because the sound the dried stalks make when disturbed along a footpath is similar to a rattlesnake rattle. The Japanese name shiso became part of the English lexicon in the 1990s, owing to the growing popularity of sushi.
The plant is sometimes referred to by its genus name, Perilla, but this is ambiguous as perilla could also refer to a different cultigen ( Perilla frutescens var. frutescens). To avoid confusion, Perilla frutescens var. frutescens is called egoma ("perilla sesame") in Japan and deulkkae ("wild sesame") in Korea.
When red-leaf shiso was introduced into the West in the 1850s, it was given the scientific name Perilla nankinensis, after the city of Nanking. "Perilla Nankinesnsis, a new and curious plant with crimon leaves.."; An earlier issue (Vol. 21, Oct. 1853, p.240) describes it being grown among the "New Annuals in the Horticultural Society's Garden". This name is now less common than Perilla frutescens.
Red shiso became available to gardening enthusiasts in England around 1855. By 1862, the English were reporting overuse of this plant, and proposing Coleus vershaeffeltii, Pl. 96 or Amaranthus melancholicus var. ruber made available by J.G. Veitch as an alternative. It was introduced later in the United States, perhaps in the 1860s., " Perilla nankinensis was one of the first of the many ormanental foliaged plants brought into the gardens and greenhouses of this country within few years. " gives mid-19th century as introductory period into the US. Today, it is considered a Weedy species or Invasive species species.
| + Japanese names for shiso types | Shiso (紫蘇) |
| Akajiso (赤紫蘇) | |
| Chirimen-jiso (縮緬紫蘇) | |
| Aojiso (青紫蘇) | |
| Ōba (大葉) | |
| Chirimen-aojiso (縮緬青紫蘇) | |
| Katamen-jiso (片面紫蘇) | |
| Madara-jiso (斑紫蘇) |
Red shiso is called akajiso (赤紫蘇). It is used in the making of umeboshi (pickled plums) to give the plums a red color. The leaves turn bright red when steeped in umezu, the vinegary brine that results as a byproduct of pickling plums. It can also be combined with umezu to make certain types of sushi. In the summer, it is used to make a sweet, red juice. In Kyoto, red shiso and its seeds are used to make shibazuke, a type of fermented eggplant.
Red leaves are dried and pulverized into flakes, then mixed with salt to make a seasoning called yukari. The word yukari is an ancient term for the color purple, and was first used by Mishima Foods Co. to describe their shiso product, though the word is now used to refer to shiso salt in general.Used as such by Japanese-American author, Red shiso leaf flakes are a common ingredient in furikake seasonings, meant to be sprinkled over rice or mixed into onigiri (rice balls).
Green shiso is called aojiso (青紫蘇) or ōba (大葉 "big leaf"). 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). Leaves can also be battered on one side and fried to make tempura, and are served with other fried items. Chopped leaves are used to flavor any number of fillings or batter to be cooked, for use in warm dishes. In Japan, pasta is sometimes topped with dried or freshly chopped shiso leaves, which is often combined with raw tarako (pollock roe). gives this tarako and shiso spaghetti recipe Green shiso has even been used in pizza toppings in lieu of basil. In the summer of 2009, Pepsi Japan released a seasonal flavored beverage, the green colored Pepsi Shiso.
Shiso seed pods (fruits) are called shiso no mi, and are salted and preserved like a spice. They can be combined with fine slivers of daikon (radish) to make a simple salad. Oil pressed from the seeds was once used for deep-frying.
Shiso sprouts, buds and are all called mejiso (芽紫蘇), and used as garnish. Red sprouts are called murame, and green sprouts are called aome.. Photograph shows both green shiso sprouts ( aome) and slightly larger red shiso sprouts ( mura me) with true leaves Although not often served in restaurants, mejiso are used as .
Shiso flowers are called hojiso (穂紫蘇), and used as garnish for sashimi. They are intended to be scraped off the stalk with chopsticks, and added as flavoring to the soy sauce dip. The flowers can also be pickled.
Tía tô leaves are used in Vietnamese cuisine for salads, soups, or stir-fried dishes. The strong flavors are perfect for cooking seafoods such as shrimp and fish dishes. They are eaten as a garnish with bún (rice vermicelli). Leaves are also pickled.
Wild shiso is rich in perilla ketone, which is a potent lung toxin to some livestock. When consumed by cattle and horses, it causes pulmonary edema, leading to a condition sometimes called perilla mint toxicosis. Effects on humans remain to be studied.
The plant produces the natural product perilloxin, which is built around a 3-benzoxepin moiety. Like aspirin, perilloxin inhibits the enzyme cyclooxygenase with an IC50 of 23.2 μM.
Other chemotypes include eschscholzia ketone, perillene, and the phenylpropanoids myristicin, dillapiole, elemicin, citral, and a type rich in rosefuran.
Shiso contains only about 25.2–25.7% lipid,Hyo-Sun Shin, in , citing Tsuyuki et al. (1978) but still contains a comparable 60% ratio of ALA.gives 58%, gives 62.3% red, 65.4% green shiso Aromatic essential oils present are limonene, caryophyllene, and farnesene.
Bactericidal and preservative effects of shiso, due to the presence of terpenes such as perilla alcohol, have been noted.
The biggest producer of shiso for the food market is Aichi Prefecture, boasting 3,852 tons, or 37.0% of national production (2008 data)., starred data is FY2008 data. Data for greenhouse production, which is a better indicator of crop yield, gives 3,528 tons for Aichi Prefecture, or 56% share of national production.Both these numbers square with figures The difference in percentage is an indicator that in Aichi, the leaves are 90% greenhouse produced, whereas nationwide the ratio is 60:40 in favor of indoors over open fields. In Aichi Prefecture, the city of Toyohashi produces the most shiso in Japan.This can be derived from , with minimal data analysis. Aichi produces four times as much as the 2nd ranked Ibaraki Prefecture and Toyohashi grew 48% of it, so about double any other prefectural total. They are followed in ranking by Namegata, Ibaraki.
There seems to be a growth spurt for shiso crops grown for industrial use. The data shows the following trend for crops targeted for oil and perfumery.
According to one anecdote, in 1961, a food co-operative from Shizuoka specializing in tsuma (garnishes) began shipping green shiso to the Osaka market, where it grew so popular the name ōba (大葉 "big leaf") became the trade name for bunches of picked green leaves.
Another account places the start of green shiso production origin in the city of Toyohashi, the foremost ōba producer in the country., under heading "Tsumamono nippon-ichi"(つまもの生産日本一) states Toyhashi is Japan's 1 producer of both edible chrysanthemums and shiso It claims that the Toyohashi Greenhouse Horticultural Agricultural Cooperative experimented with planting green shiso around 1955, and started merchandising the leaves as ōba around 1962. In 1963 they organized "cooperative sorting and sales" of the crop, and achieved year-round production around 1970. website pdf, p.174
In the 1970s refrigerated storage and transport became available, bringing fresh produce and seafood to areas away from farms or seaports. Foods like sashimi became daily fare, and so too did sashimi garnishes like green shiso.
The word ōba was originally a trade name and was not listed in the popular dictionary Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten as "green shiso" until its 5th edition (1997).
Cookbooks
Nutrition and chemistry
Japanese dictionaries
Japanese misc. sites
Ministry statistics
Korea
In Korean cuisine, shiso is called soyeop (소엽) or chajogi (차조기). It is less popular than the related cultigen, P. frutescens ( deulkkae). Soyeop is commonly seen as a wild plant, and the leaves are occasionally used as a ssam vegetable. Red leaves are sometimes pickled in soy sauce or doenjang as a jangajji, or deep-fried as bugak with a thin coat of rice flour batter.
Southeast Asia
Laos
In Laos, red shiso leaves are called pak maengda (ຜັກແມງດາ). They are used to add fragrance to khao poon (ເຂົ້າປຸ້ນ), a rice vermicelli dish that is similar to the Vietnamese bún.
Vietnam
In Vietnam, shiso is called tía tô. Compared to Japanese shiso, it has slightly smaller leaves but a much stronger aromatic flavor. Vietnamese tía tô are often bicolored, with leaves that are red on the backside.
Biochemistry
Shiso's distinctive flavor comes from perillaldehyde, which is found only in low concentrations in other perilla varieties, including Perilla frutescens. The oxime of perillaldehyde, perillartine, is about 2,000 times sweeter than sucrose. However, perillartine has a bitter aftertaste and is not soluble in water, and is only used in Japan as an artificial sweetener to sweeten tobacco.Kinghorn and Compadre (2001) apud .
Cultivation
In temperate , the plant is self-sowing, but the seeds are not viable after long storage, and germination rates are low after a year.
Japan
The bar graph shows the trend in total production of shiso in Japan, as given by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, FY2009, title: "Vegetables: Domestic Production Breakdown (野菜の国内生産量の内訳)" , Excel button (h001-21-071.xls) For green shiso, cumulative figures for shiso as vegetable is used.)
History
Green shiso was not industrially grown until the 1960s. Production volume remained negligible until 1976. Several accounts exist regarding the beginnings of shiso production.
(1990). 9784810491166, Dōhōsha. ISBN 9784810491166, quoted by : "..一九六一（昭和三十六）年ごろ、静岡県の、あるツマ物生産組合が、青大葉ジソの葉を摘んでオオバの名で大阪の市場に出荷.."
See also
Notes
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Herb books
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