Avanti Cafe Musings: Flavor & Spice w/ Korean Perilla Pickles

Korean food is not as well known as some of the other Asian favorites like Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai. But it's worth a gander. Most cities have well stocked Korean markets & Korean food is a healthful, vegetable based & hot and spicy cuisine worth investigating. All over Asia, the mighty perilla leaf is grown and used to flavor dishes much as basil is used in Western countries. Interestingly each culture grows different varieties. Sushi lovers will know the strong, minty sweet flavor of shiso in the kuri shiso maki rolls & ume boshi (red shiso) & many other Japanese dishes, especially in kaiseki ryori. Thai & Vietnamese cuisine use a fun variety that has smallish leaves that are green on top and purple on the bottom. The Koreans use a more substantial and earthy variety that somehow gets translated as 'sesame leaves' in English. They have nothing to do w/ sesame or sesame seeds. The correct name in English is perilla. Perilla seeds are also widely used in Korean recipes. They are rich & brown in color and larger than yellow mustard seeds.

To make spicy pickled perilla leaves, you need very few ingredients and no special equipment. Here's what you do.

Combine nira chives & hot chilies in med bowl. Use chilies to taste.

This recipe makes rather HOT pickles

Add in remaining flavoring ingredients

Layer flavorings w/ the clean perilla leaves.

Pickled Perilla w/ Nira Chives

Med to Large

Korean perilla leaves

Also known as sesame leaves in Korean markets

Amount	Measure	Ingredient	Prep Method
1	Cup	Nira chives	¼” slices
½	Cup	Korean chilies	Thin slice, red & green
1	Tablespoon	Garlic	Minced
1	Tablespoon	Preserved lemon	Minced, recipe follows below
2	Tablespoons	Honey
½	Cup	Shoyu
2	Tablespoons	sake

Directions:

Wash the perilla leaves and dry well. I dry them in two large colanders, tossing regularly. When they are almost dry, add in some paper towels to wick away the last bit of moisture.

Combine all the flavoring ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Layer the flavorings w/ the leaves (3 leaves at a time), in glass wide jars (or flat bowls). Let cure at room temp for 24 hours. Then refrigerate. They continue to cure in the fridge for several days and last until you use them all up.

Once you try them, you’ll find hundreds of uses. Great w/ any Asian rice dish, love them in potato pancakes, delish in whole wheat pasta recipes w/ fresh vegetables. Use them to brighten any dish.

Here are some serving suggestions to whet your appetites. Kamsahamnida Peoples!

Scrumptious brown rice medley and roasted tofu w/ Korean perilla pickles. Use chopsticks to pinch the rice and tofu w/ the large leaves.

Sort of an impromptu sushi roll.

Simple whole wheat penne w/ zucchini, cherry tomatoes, arugula, evoo & hot perilla pickles bring the salt, acidity, heat & brightness to flavor this hearty dish

There are many recipes for Moroccan preserved lemons all over the internet. This is the Avanti restaurant kitchen version. You can also find jarred preserved lemons for sale in gourmet specialty stores.

Preserved Lemons

Amount	Measure	Ingredient	Prep Method
3	Cup	Fine salt
½	cup	Coarse salt
2/3	Cup	Pink salt

Medium sized firm lemons washed, ends cut off and quartered. Glass jars. 1 T salt mix per each 6 quarters lemon. End w/ salt on top.

Shake well every day for 3 days.

After 4 days, open the jars, press in more lemons and more salt to make very tight, and add w/ lemon juice to cover. Shake every day for 3 more days.

Put in a cool dry place and let pickle for at least one month.

Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win Situation!

Eat, Live & Party Well

Blog post by Chef Mark Cleveland

Avanti is the longstanding leader in organic, sustainable, local, flavorful cuisine in Orange County, CA.

Meaning 'forward' in Italian, Avanti Natural is a culinary philosophy that integrates the best of traditional European and Asian healthful eating with the latest nutritional information for optimum health.

Our successful restaurant Avanti Café was located on 17^th St in Costa Mesa from 2005 through 2014. Follow us on social media to see what is new and in store for Avanti in our culinary futures.

At Avanti Natural, we believe that you don't have to sacrifice taste to eat healthy; you can Eat Well & Live Well

We are Whole Foods Experts It’s time to take Avanti Natural to restaurant menus & kitchens everywhere.

Post photos of your versions of Avanti Natural recipes on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. We’re excited to see and share your culinary creativity!

www.avantinatural.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Avanti-Cafe/166822256677277?ref=hl

Twitter https://twitter.com/AvantiNatural

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/avantinatural/boards/

Instagram http://instagram.com/avantinatural