Korean Perilla Leaves

All I need is a bowl of rice, some chopsticks, and marinated perilla leaves to be happy. 🙂

Korean perilla leaves, also known as sesame leaves, are a very popular banchan in Korean cuisine. Banchan, or side dishes, are an essential part of Korean meals. They are brought out in small portions, meant to be shared, and served with rice.

This recipe is for marinated Korean perilla leaves. The perilla leaf itself is so flavorful and tastes a bit like mint and licorice. The addition of the marinade gives you an absolute incredible flavor that must be tasted to be believed. I would describe the taste of the marinated perilla leaves as licoricey (sorry if that’s not a word!), minty, salty, garlicky, spicy, and slightly sweet. Doesn’t that sound amaaaazing?!? 🙂

This takes about 10 minutes to put together and is so easy to do. Once you’ve assembled everything and dressed the leaves with the marinade, it’s best to leave it to sit for a few hours so that the marinade can really sink in.

The best way to eat this once it is ready, is to grab yourself a bowl of hot rice and some chopsticks. Pick up one of the leaves and lay it on your rice. Then proceed to wrap up some rice with the leaf, and enjoy.

If you make this recipe, please let me know how you like it by commenting below!

You may also enjoy these other banchan recipes:

Korean Zucchini Side Dish (Hobak Namul)

Korean Wild Green Onion Kimchi (Pa Kimchi)

Bring a taste of Korea to your table and enjoy!! 🙂

Print Recipe

Marinated Korean Perilla Leaves

These marinated perilla leaves are licoricey (sorry if that’s not a word!), minty, salty, garlicky, spicy, and slightly sweet. Doesn’t that sound amaaaazing?!? 🙂  Enjoy this delicious banchan with rice!

Prep Time10 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: Banchan

Servings: 10 people

Author: Grace

Ingredients

• 1.4 oz perilla leaves approximately 30 leaves
• 2 tbsp Korean red pepper flakes
• 6 tbsp soy sauce please use Kikkoman it’s the best!
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1-3 each Thai chilis minced; purely optional but gives it extra kick for lovers of spice!

Instructions

• Combine the red pepper flakes, soy sauce, minced garlic, brown sugar, and minced chilis (if using) in a bowl.  Mix well.
  
• Lay one perilla leaf down in a container and add a small amount of the marinade on top.  Spread the marinade over the leaf.  
  
• Continue laying each leaf on top and adding a small amount of marinade, until all leaves have been covered by the marinade.  Remember, you will only need a small amount of the marinade, and you should the marinade over each leaf.  
  

Notes

Your Korean perilla leaf banchan is ready to eat straight away, however it is best to cover and refrigerate for a few hours to let the marinade set in.  Enjoy with some hot rice!!