← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 100 g Red shiso (aka shiso) leaves, picked from the stems and rinsed
• 1 l Water
• 200 g Sugar
• 120 ml apple cider vinegar (or rice vinegar)
• chilled still or sparkling water, to serve
• Ice

Method

1. Bring the water to the boil in a large pot. Add the shiso leaves and simmer for 5 min, pressing them under, until they turn green and the water turns deep purple.
2. Strain the liquid into a clean pan, pressing the leaves to squeeze out every drop. Discard the leaves.
3. Add the sugar and stir over low heat for 2 min until it dissolves completely. Turn off the heat.
4. Pour in the vinegar and watch the cordial turn bright magenta. Let it cool.
5. Bottle and keep in the fridge. Serve 1 part cordial to 3–4 parts chilled water or soda over ice.

Tips

• Red shiso is in season in early summer; look for it in Japanese and Korean shops or farmers markets.
• The cordial keeps in the fridge for about 6 months in a sterilised bottle.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Chopstick Chronicles