Fragrant rice thief! Perilla leaf salad recipe and delicious story hidden in the name

 Perilla leaf salad that fills your mouth with a fragrant spoonful of warm rice. Although it is a simple side dish, there is an interesting story hidden inside. Today, we will unravel the food literature story behind perilla leaf salad, and we will also tell you a delicious recipe and SEO optimization tips! 😉

Sesame? Perilla? Uncovering the secret of perilla leaves 🤔

There are two types of seeds that we commonly call 'sesame': sesame and perilla. The prefix '참' means 'real', and is used to refer to unique and representative things, such as sparrow 🐦 or tuna 🐟. Sesame has been called '임자(荏子)' or **호마(胡麻)** since ancient times.

The main character of today, perilla leaves, refers to the leaves of perilla leaves. While perilla grows, the leaves are harvested and used for food. Perilla leaves, with their unique fragrance, add a variety of flavors to our table. 😋

Freckles on the face? A fun story about freckles ✨

Interestingly, we call the small, yellowish-brown pigmented spots on the face that look like sesame seeds sprinkled on them freckles. They usually appear on areas exposed to sunlight, such as the nose 👃, cheeks 😊, and the back of the hand 👋, and the name comes from the fact that their rough appearance reminds us of the seeds of perilla leaves. They used to be common in Korea, but recently, they are more often found in Western children 👧👦, giving them a cute and adorable feel. It's a fun story that comes from the pronunciation of perilla leaves, 'sesame'. 😄

Enrich your table with the charm and fragrance of perilla leaves 🌿

The biggest charm of perilla leaves is their unique fragrance. This scent not only whets the appetite, but is especially effective in eliminating the gamey smell of meat 🥩 or fish 🐟, so it is often used as a wrap vegetable at meat restaurants.

In particular, the combination of pork belly 🥓, a representative K-food, wrapped in perilla leaves is widely known overseas. However, ironically, it is rare to enjoy perilla leaves themselves as a wrap vegetable in foreign countries. 😮

There are various types of vegetables to wrap grilled meat on charcoal 🔥, such as lettuce 🥬, romaine, and mugwort. Coriander 🌱, which has a unique scent that is divisive, and rice paper, which is popular in Vietnam 🇻🇳 and Laos 🇱🇦, are not yet familiar in Korea. 🤔

Foods that look similar to perilla leaf salad but are different 🥗

Among the vegetables that are enjoyed as salads like perilla leaves, there are also soybean leaves that have different sizes, colors, and textures. Recently, they have been released as canned foods 🥫, making them easy to enjoy.

Cucumber salad 🥒 and pickled vegetables 🌶️ are similar to perilla leaf salad in that they use seasoned seasonings, but their taste and flavor are clearly different from fresh perilla leaf salad mixed with perilla leaves.

Recently, vegetables with wide leaves are not often used as vegetables for shabu-shabu 🍲, but cabbage 🥬 often appears. This may be because vegetables with a strong unique flavor like perilla leaves do not go well with the mild flavor of shabu-shabu. 🤷‍♀️

Perilla leaf salad, a taste born from your own hands 😋

In spring, when fresh new shoots come up, wash young perilla leaves cleanly and evenly apply seasoning made with soy sauce, garlic 🧄, and red pepper powder 🌶️ to every 2-3 leaves to complete a delicious perilla leaf salad. It is delicious even if you eat it right away, but you can taste another deep flavor if you let it age for a few days. In particular, the seasoning made with old perilla leaves has a different flavor. 👍

There is also a simpler way to make it. After trimming the perilla leaves, add a little salt to boiling water, blanch them briefly, and then mix them with seasoning made with soy sauce, chopped green onions 🧅, chopped garlic 🧄, sesame oil, and sesame salt to complete a fragrant perilla leaf salad.

Perilla leaves are a great ingredient for those who like unique and special flavors. The sight of a grandmother selling freshly picked sesame leaves from the field at dawn at a traditional market is so heartwarming. 🥰

Perilla leaf hair? Another fun thing in the name 💇‍♀️

An interesting fact is that there is a hairstyle called perilla leaf hair that resembles the shape of a perilla leaf. It is said that the name was given because the bangs are swept to one side and combed, giving it a cute and adorable look like a perilla leaf. 😊

Perilla leaf salad, between geotjeori and bibimbap 🤔

Perilla leaf salad looks similar to geotjeori in that it is eaten by mixing it with fresh vegetables, but the difference is that geotjeori is mainly made by pickling vegetables such as cabbage or cucumber and seasoning them, while perilla leaf salad seasoned the perilla leaves themselves.

Bibimbap 🍚 is also different from perilla leaf salad in that it is eaten by mixing various vegetables and meat together. Perilla leaf salad is sometimes eaten with cucumbers or other vegetables, but the key is to bring out the original flavor and taste of the perilla leaves. The characteristic of 'muchim' is that the mixed seasoning is sprinkled or spread on the main ingredient like a muksabal 🍜.

Interestingly, it is difficult to accurately express our unique cooking method called 'muchida' in English. Google Translate translates it as 'salad' 🥗 or 'stir', 'shake', etc., but these are insufficient expressions to capture the delicate taste of perilla leaf salad and the harmony of the seasoning. 😥

Add happiness to your table with fragrant perilla leaf salad! 🌿😋

Today, I hope that the colorful story behind perilla leaf salad made an ordinary side dish feel special. How about enjoying the fragrance of perilla leaf salad with warm rice and feeling the precious value of our table once again? 🥰