For the past eight years, one of the crops we’ve grown and sold consistently at Sweet Botanicals has been Korean perilla, or kkaennip (깻잎). You may also know it as sesame leaf, which is the name many of our customers use when they ask for it.
Despite that name, kkaennip isn’t actually related to the sesame plant. It belongs to the mint family and has a flavor all its own: fresh, aromatic, slightly minty and a little reminiscent of basil. It’s also different from Japanese shiso, even though the two plants look similar. In Korean cooking, fresh perilla leaves are used whole as wraps with rice and grilled meats, shredded into dishes, pickled, steamed, or made into kkaennip kimchi.
One of the nice things about growing kkaennip ourselves is that customers can get the leaves about as fresh as they possibly can. Some people like to come to the farm and pick their own, choosing the size and leaves they want right from the plants. Others would rather have us harvest and package them so they're ready when they arrive.
Fresh kkaennip prices:
Pick your own: 12 leaves for $2.49
Picked and packaged by us: 12 leaves for $2.99
We also make marinated kkaennip. If you’re interested in buying it prepared, contact us and ask about current availability and pricing.
If you’ve never eaten kkaennip before, one of the simplest ways to discover it is as a wrap: take a fresh leaf, add a little rice and whatever meat, vegetables or other fillings you like, fold it up and eat the whole thing. But there are a remarkable number of things you can do with this one leaf. Korean cook Maangchi has recipes for kkaennip kimchi, pickled kkaennip (kkaennip-jangajji), steamed leaves, pan-fried stuffed leaves and many other dishes.
For a good introduction to the ingredient and ideas for using it, we recommend Maangchi’s guide to perilla leaves (kkaennip).
After eight years, kkaennip has become one of those plants that simply belongs here. Every year it comes back into the garden, and every year people come looking for it. Some already know exactly what they want to make with it. Others have never tasted it before.
Either way, if you’d like some, get in touch with Sweet Botanicals or come pick your own while it’s in season.
