Perilla frutescens, commonly called perilla or Korean perilla, is a species of Perilla in the mint familyLamiaceae. It is an annual plant native to Southeast Asia and Indian highlands, and is traditionally grown in the Korean peninsula, southern China, Japan and India as a crop. An edible plant, perilla is a very attractive plant for the garden and attracts butterflies. It is an aromatic plant with a strong minty smell. Various perilla varieties are traditionally used by local people, the leaves are used as a vegetable and the seeds supply nutritious cooking oil. A variety of this plant, P. frutescens var. crispa or "shiso", is widely grown and is one of the most popular garnishes in Japan, used as an antidote for fish and crab meat allergy or as a food colorant. In the United States, perilla is a weed pest, toxic to cattle after ingestion.
Names
Along with other plants in the genus Perilla, the plant is commonly called "perilla". It is also referred to as "Korean perilla", due to its extensive cultivation in Korea and use in Korean cuisine. In Korean, the name kkae refers to both the plant and the seed of sesame and perilla. Sesame is called chamkkae, while perilla is called deulkkae. Because of this, deulkkae is sometimes mistranslated as "wild sesame". It is called egoma in Japanese, and, in Chinese, the plant is called zĭsū or sūzǐ. The leaves are called "perilla", "perilla leaves", or "Korean perilla leaves" in English, and kkaennip in Korean. The leaves are called sūyè or sūzǐyè in Chinese. In the USA, where the plant has become a weed, the plant is known by many names such as perilla mint, beefsteak plant, purple perilla, Chinese basil, wild basil, blueweed, Joseph's coat, wild coleus and rattlesnake weed.
Infraspecific taxa
Perilla frutescens has three known varieties.
P. frutescens – called Korean perilla or deulkkae.
P. frutescens var. crispa – also called shiso or tía tô.
P. frutescens var. hirtella – also called lemon perilla.
Description
Perilla is an annual plant growing tall, with hairy squarestalks. The leaves are opposite, long and wide, with a broad oval shape, pointy ends, serrated margins, and long leafstalks. The leaves are green with occasional touches of purple on the underside. The flowers bloom on racemes at the end of branches and the main stalk in late summer. The calyx, long, consist of upper three sepals and the hairy lower two. The corolla is long with its lower lip longer than the upper. Two of the four stamens are long. The fruit is a schizocarp, in diameter, and with pattern on the outside. Perilla seeds can be soft or hard, being white, grey, brown, and dark brown in colour and globular in shape. 1000 seeds weigh about. Perilla seeds contain about 38-45% lipid.
Cultivation
The plant was introduced into Korea before the Unified Silla era, when it started to be widely cultivated. In its natural state, the yield of perilla leaves and seeds is not high. If the stem is cut about above ground level in summer, a new stalk grows and it produces more fruit. Leaves can be harvested from the stem cut off in the summer, as well as from the new stalk and its branches, throughout summer and autumn. The seeds are harvested in autumn when the fruits are ripe. To collect perilla seeds, the whole plant is harvested and the seeds are beat out of the plant, before being spread for sun drying.
Traditional medicine, phytochemicals, and toxicity
Various perilla varieties are used for traditional medicine in Southeast Asia. Leaves of P. frutescens var. crispa are more often used than var. frutescens in China for the supposed medicinal properties. Characteristic aroma-active phytochemicals in perilla leaves include hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, furans, and ketones, particularly perilla ketone, egoma ketone, and isoegoma ketone. Other compounds include perillaldehyde, limonene, linalool, beta-caryophyllene, menthol, and alpha-pinene. The crispa variety is differentiated by leaf and stem colors, which vary from green to red to purple, indicating the presence of anthocyanins. Although perilla is widely cultivated as an edible plant for humans, it is toxic to cattle and other ruminants, as well as horses. In grazing cattle, plant ketones cause acute respiratory distress syndrome, also called "panting disease".
Adverse effects
may occur in people handling the leaves or oil. Consumption of large amounts of seeds has resulted in anaphylaxis.
In Japan, the plant is called egoma, and used far less compared to shiso. In the Tōhoku regions of northwestern Japan, it is known as jūnen, because it was believed to add ten years to a person's lifespan. A local preparation in Fukushima Prefecture, called shingorō, consists of half-pounded non-glutinous rice patties, which are skewered, smeared with miso, blended with roasted and ground jūnen seeds, and roasted over charcoal. Oil pressed from the seeds was historically used to in lamps. The warlordSaitō Dōsan was said to have been originally a seller of egoma seed oil.
Korea
In Korean cuisine, kkaennip or perilla leaves are widely used as a herb and a vegetable. Kkaennip can be used fresh as a ssam vegetable, fresh or blanched as a namul vegetable, or pickled in soy sauce or soybean paste to make jangajji or kimchi. Deulkkae, the perilla seeds, are either toasted and ground into powder called deulkkae-garu or toasted and pressed to make perilla oil. Toasted deulkkae powder is used as a spice and a condiment for guk, namul, guksu, kimchi, and eomuk. It is also used as gomul for desserts: Yeot and several tteok varieties can be coated with toasted perilla powder. Perilla oil made from toasted perilla seeds is used as a cooking oil and as a condiment. In Korean-style western food, perilla leaves are sometimes used to substitute basil, and the seed powder and oil is used in salad dressings as well as in dipping sauces. A Michelin-starred restaurant in Seoul serves nutty vanilla ice cream whose secret ingredient is perilla oil.
South Asia
India
In India, perilla is called silam. Perilla seeds are roasted and ground with salt, chilis, and tomatoes to make a savoury side dish or chutney. In Kumaon the seeds of Bhangira are eaten raw, the seed oil is used for cooking purposes, and the oil cake is consumed raw or fed to cattle. The roasted seeds are also ground to prepare a spicy chutney. The seeds and leaves of Perilla are also used for flavoring curries. Manipuri cuisine uses the ground roasted seed in a salad locally known as 'singju'.
In Nepal, perilla is called silam. Perilla seeds are roasted and ground with salt, chilis, and tomatoes to make a savoury dip/side dish or chutney.
Seed oil
Having a distinctive nutty aroma and taste, the oil pressed from the toasted perilla seeds is used as a flavor enhancer, condiment, and a cooking oil in Korean cuisine. The press cake remaining after pressing perilla oil can be used as natural fertilizer or animal feed.
