Kkaennip (Korean perilla leaf)

Feuille de périlla coréenne

What it is

Korean perilla is a different botanical variety from Japanese shiso — broader, flatter, green on both faces instead of purple beneath — and the two are never swapped in a Korean kitchen. The same plant supplies deulgireum, the roasted perilla-seed oil that seasons half of Korean vegetable cookery, so one crop gives both a wrapper and a fat.

In the kitchen

For kkaennip-jangajji, stack the leaves and brush sauce onto every second or third one, then weight the pile: sauce on every leaf and the middle is oversalted within a day. Lay them flat over lettuce rather than instead of it — one perilla leaf per bite is the ceiling.

Goes with

Gochujang Garlic Toasted sesame oil Pork belly Gochugaru Soy sauce Perilla oil

Same species

Perilla seed powder Hojiso (shiso flower spikes) Kkaennip-jangajji Perilla oil Perilla seed Red shiso

Also used with

Ssamjang

In season alongside

Angelica Basil Cilantro / Coriander Epazote Garlic chives Hoja santa

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