What is the name of that Japanese leaf?!
What is the name of that Japanese leaf?
It's jagged and goes well with ume maki and azuki mochi.
Answers:
SHISO: it's a member of the mint family, aka perilla.
The Japanese name for perilla is shiso (紫蘇?). The Japanese call the green type aojiso (青紫蘇?), aoba ("green leaf"), ōba (corruption of aoba, often written as 大葉, "big leaf") or aoshiso and often eat it with sashimi (sliced raw fish) or cut into thin strips in salads, spaghetti, and meat and fish dishes. It is also used as a flavorful herb in a variety of dishes, even as a pizza topping (initially it was used in place of basil). The purple type is called akajiso (赤紫蘇 "red shiso"?) and is used to make umeboshi (pickled ume), or combined with ume paste in sushi to make umeshiso maki. An inflorescence of shiso is called hojiso. Its young leaves and flower buds are used for pickling in Japan and Taiwan.