깻잎김치 - Kkaennip Kimchi

 Perilla Leaf Kimchi 

I got this recipe from this blog.   There are so many recipes out there for making this Korean side dish, but this one is my favorite.  Perilla leaves have a very distinct flavor and texture kind of like mint.  My first time eating it I didn't like it much because I'd never tasted something like that before.  But now I can't get enough of this stuff.  I buy this leaves from a local Korean market.  The leaves are usually large, like the size of your hand (if you're a petite woman like me).  Also you can plant and grow this yourself.  It's very easy to grow because it grows like a weed.  I bought some seeds for it from Kitazawa Seed Company.

The blog I got the recipe from is a vegan blog so I changed it up so that it's not a vegan version.


Ingredients

2 TBSP Korean red pepper powder
2 TBSP  soy sauce
1 TBSP fish sauce
1 TBSP garlic, minced
1/2 - 1 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp ginger powder
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
4-6 bunches of perilla leaves

First I rinse the leaves and stacked them up nicely on top of each other, making 2 piles (one pile was a little too tall) and put in a dish.  Then I put a cup or two of water in a pot to boil.  Once it was boiling I poured the water over the leaves and immediately drained the water.  This very slightly blanched the leaves.  Perilla leaves are very delicate and cook very quickly.

While the leaves cooled I mixed together the sauce.  I put all ingredients, except the leaves in a bowl and mixed.  Then I took one leaf out of the dish and put on a plate and spread a little bit of the spicy sauce on the top of the leaf.   The next leaf I laid on top of the leaf I just seasoned and put some sauce on that leaf.  I continued with this until all the leaves were coated in the spicy sauce.  Then I put them in a dish, put a lid on, and put in the fridge for eating later, or you can eat right away.

When eating this side dish I grab the stem of the leaf on top with my chopsticks and pull the top leaf off the stack, then lay it over the top of rice and grab a bunch of rice underneath it, wrapping the large leaf around with the chopsticks and eat it.