Salt Shiso Pickles: not much to look at, but easy to love.
Success! A few weeks ago I wrote of my scheme to make salt shiso pickles by sprinking a bit of salt on each of my homegrown shiso leaves and stacking them up in a jar. The leaves were then pressed down with a wooden spoon and salted away in the back of the refrigerator.
I had my first taste this morning and happy to report they are non-moldy and taste just like shiso. I wouldn’t wrap one of these unlovely leaves around a lobe of uni, but they’d be fine to mix into some chirashi rice or maybe a sushi roll. And I have enough to last all winter long.
By the way, I have recently encountered fresh shiso leaves at two sushi restaurants in the 518, Kinjo in Saratoga and Sushi Tei in Albany. Kinjo’s owner told me he simply orders from his supplier. So exciting to see this distinctive herb gaining some traction.
