With a beautiful, rose color and a refreshing taste, Aka Shiso Juice (Red Perilla Juice) is a popular homemade summer drink in Japan made of red perilla leaves. It brings out your appetite on hot days and helps with recovery from exhaustion, digestion, anti-aging, and more!!

Aka Shiso Juice (Red Perilla Juice)

INGREDIENTS

For Aka Shiso Syrup

• ▢3.5 oz red shiso (1 leaf (roughly 3"x3") is about 1 g)
• ▢4 cups water (for cooking red shiso)
• ▢1 cup sugar (adjust to your liking; however, if you use less sugar, it may not be preserved for a long time)
• ▢½ cup apple cider vinegar (adjust to your liking)

For Aka Shiso Juice

• ▢cold water or sparkling water

For Yukari Rice Seasoning

• ▢2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or umezu (red plum vinegar), which I used today)

INSTRUCTIONS

 

To Make Aka Shiso Syrup

• Gather all the ingredients. Today I used ¾ of the recipe shown above based on what I could harvest from the yard. Here I use 75 g (2.6 oz) red shiso leaves, 150 g (¾ cup) sugar, 90 ml (⅜ cup) apple cider vinegar, and 720 ml (3 cups) water.
  
• Rinse the shiso leaves under cold running water.
• On a medium-high heat, bring the measured water in a medium pot to a boil.
• Once boiling, add the shiso leaves and let them submerged in the water.
• Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.
• The cooking liquid will start turning darker purple while the leaves turn green.
• Once you're done cooking, turn off the heat and reserve the cooking liquid. Drain the shiso leaves by either scooping them up into a sieve (as shown in the picture) or drain into a sieve over a bowl.
• Press and squeeze the leaves with a wooden spoon or metal ladle (something hard) to get the additional cooking liquid from the leaves. No wasting!
• Turn the heat back on, add sugar, and let it dissolved completely.
• Add apple cider vinegar. Turn off the heat and let cool.
• Meanwhile, sterilize the jar, or wash the jar really well and wipe with alcohol (I used shochu).
• Pour the cooled syrup into the sterilized jar.

To Store the Syrup

• If you don't change the amount of sugar, it should be kept well in the refrigerator or freezer for up to 6-12 months. Always use a clean utensil to scoop up the juice.

To Make Aka Shiso Juice

• Mix the syrup and water/sparkling water roughly 1:1 or 1:2 or to your liking.

To Make Yukari Rice Seasoning

• Add apple cider vinegar to the reserved shiso leaves. You can also use umezu (red plum vinegar) from making umeboshi, if you have any (I have it so I used it in this recipe). Gently loosen the leaves.
• Spread the leaves as much as you can and place it on a wire rack lined with the baking sheet.
• I used the dehydrator mode (140ºF/60ºC) in my oven to let the leaves dry for 2 hours. You can also dry in the breezy air outside
• Put the dried shiso leaves in the food processor and process it until powdered.
• Put in a container and add salt to your liking. Sprinkle yukari rice seasoning over the steamed rice and make rice balls with it. Enjoy!

To Store the Yukari

• You can keep in an airtight container and store in a cool dark place for up to a year.

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