GROWING HOME: Sesame Leaf (깻잎)

SoSim, 2009

깻잎 is magic. There's really no other way to describe it. The flavor is so unique and the leaves are beautifully heart shaped with purple undersides. Also known as sesame leaf or perilla, kkaenip is a distinctly Korean flavor. I first tasted it in Seoul as part of a spread of vegetarian banchan at a restaurant called SoSim (now closed, I believe). I had no idea what it was at the time - but once I figured it out I tracked down some seeds and started growing it in my garden. 

baby kkaenip (top) and hot pepper plants

Kkaenip is extremely easy to grow! Because my current apartment does not have a yard I'm currently growing indoors. The plants grow fast and have given us a bountiful harvest of delicious leaves throughout the summer. I just started a new crop a few days ago - they already have true leaves and are doing great. In the ground or a large pot the plants will get quite large and have grown for me in full to part sun. They don't dry out quickly and are just amazingly resilient plants.

We also buy large packs of kkaenip leaves at H-Mart for big dishes like kkaenip kimchi but it is great to always have fresh leaves on hand. It is a staple in our kitchen! Try it in gimbap - yum!

I buy my seeds from Evergreen Seeds. They've always had high fertility and can be kept in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge between seedings.