Hello!
For the first time, I made momijiso using red shiso leaves.
Red Shiso Is Very Rare in America
Even green shiso is not easy to find here, although it actually grows around my house almost like a weed.
But I had never grown or found red shiso before.
One day, while I was casually looking around at my local farmers market, this beautiful sight caught my eye.
I could hardly believe it, but yes—it really was red shiso!
I was so excited that I bought a whole bunch without even thinking twice.
My First Time Making Momijiso
Last year, I made homemade umeboshi for the first time.
This year, I found Japanese plums called “shiro” at the same local farmers market.
Last year, I made umeboshi without shiso, but this year I decided to try making umeboshi with shiso.
That was when I first really became aware of something called momijiso.
(That may sound dramatic, but it’s true! Haha.)
I used the following video as a reference and tried making momijiso myself.
Ingredients
- 50 g red shiso leaves
(The video used 230 g.) - 1 teaspoon coarse salt × 2
(The video used 1 tablespoon × 2.) - Apple cider vinegar, enough to cover the shiso
(The video used 50 ml.)
Instructions
- Remove only the leaves from the red shiso.
- Wash the leaves well.
- Add 1 teaspoon of coarse salt and knead/rub the leaves.
- Squeeze out the bitter liquid and discard it.
- Add another 1 teaspoon of coarse salt and knead/rub the leaves again.
- Squeeze out the liquid again and discard it.
- Transfer the shiso to a small jar, add enough vinegar to cover it, and it’s done ♡
I’m going to use this homemade momijiso to make homemade umeboshi.
Thank you so much for reading!
Misen ♡
