Kinome (sanshō leaf) ✦

Kinome (jeune feuille de sanshō)

What it is

Kinome is the spring leaf of the same tree that gives sanshō pepper, sold by the leaf rather than by weight, and it appears for a few weeks in April and May alongside the first bamboo shoots. Cooks slap it once between their palms before it goes on the plate, bruising the oil cells so the scent lifts.

In the kitchen

Never chop it — bruise it whole in the palm and lay it on, or the citrus note oxidises within a minute. It tingles faintly rather than numbing like the dried peppercorn, so it suits delicate things: clams, tofu, bamboo.

Goes with

Bamboo shoot Miso Scallop Silken tofu (kinugoshi) Clam Gilt-head bream

Same species

Andaliman Green Sichuan pepper Hana-sanshō (sanshō flower buds) Sansho pepper Sichuan pepper Green Sichuan pepper oil

Also used with

Japanese red seabream (madai)

In season alongside

Buckler-leaf sorrel Cilantro / Coriander Douglas fir tips Hogweed shoots Lemon balm Oxalis

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