Culinary expert Watanabe Maki is celebrated for her cooking inspired by the seasons and her attention to the little things in life. Visit her home, and you’ll find row on row of seasonal fruits preserved in liquor bottles. Jars of homemade umeboshi (pickled ume fruit) and other preserved foods stand harmoniously side by side.
“June and July are the busiest months of the year for preserving foods. It’s when I make umeboshi. I also make liqueurs using fruits of the season like ume and plums. Preserving foods is a seasonal task that can be done at home. It’s an annual rite that’s indispensable to enjoying the tastes of the season for longer.”
Alongside making umeboshi and fruit liqueurs, another seasonal task that Maki performs religiously is making syrup.
“I use seasonal ingredients: ume, plum, and red shiso at this time of year, grapes in autumn, citrus and ginger in winter. Syrup, which distills the ingredients’ goodness, has a rich taste and flavor and keeps in the fridge for over three months. Ume, plum, or red shiso syrup mixed with water or soda water makes a nice refreshing drink. If you prepare it now, it’ll come in very handy in the summer.”
The only limit to ways to enjoy syrup is your imagination!
Syrup is often enjoyed in beverages, but in fact it can be used in many other ways as well. Maki incorporates it into many aspects of her life.
“Because it’s so sweet, you can enjoy it as is on agar, jelly, or shaved ice. I’d also recommend using it in your cooking as a sweetener. It’s more than just sweet; it’s enhanced by the taste of the ingredients themselves, so it bursts with fresh flavors.”
Here Maki shares her recipe for homemade syrup made with red shiso, which happens to be in season right now. Rather than painstakingly extracting the essence as with ume syrup, you simply simmer the red shiso in a pan. Anyone can do it! But this syrup can only be made at this season of the year, so why not try your hand at it now?
Watanabe Maki’s recipe for red shiso syrup
＜Red shiso syrup＞
With its refreshing flavor and bright red color, red shiso syrup is something you’ll be thankful for during the coming summer months. Red shiso is in season from June to July. This is the only time of year it’s available, so if you’re going to make red shiso syrup, do it now!
〔Ingredients for 1 liter〕
250 g aka-jiso (red shiso) leaves
400 g granulated sugar
1 lemon
NOTE: Cane sugar or sanonto (light brown sugar) can be substituted for granulated sugar, though the resulting syrup will have a somewhat browner, murkier appearance.
〔Instructions〕
【1】Sterilize the inside of the jar with a food-grade alcohol spray. Don’t forget to sterilize the inside of the lid as well. You can also sterilize the container with boiling water.
【2】Thoroughly wash the red shiso leaves, removing any dirt or other debris.
【3】Place the red shiso in an enamel pan with 5 cups of water and turn on the heat. Simmer over medium heat until the red shiso leaves release their color.
【4】Once the leaves have released their color, strain the liquid through a colander. Wait for the liquid to drip down naturally under its own weight. Don’t press the leaves: scum will form if you do.
【5】Pour the liquid back into the pan and add the granulated sugar. Boil down over high heat for about 5 minutes. Skim off any scum as it forms.
【6】Turn off the heat, squeeze on the lemon, and presto! The liquid will turn a beautiful bright red. Let cool slightly in the pan, then transfer to the jar sterilized in Step 1. It will keep in the fridge for about 3 months.
Three ideas for enjoying your homemade syrup
Once your homemade syrup is ready, what should you do with it? Watanabe Maki suggests three ways to enjoy it. So incorporate it into your daily routine — and savor every last drop!
Idea #1: Enjoy as a beverage
＜Red shiso syrup and hibiscus juice＞
A blend of red shiso syrup and hibiscus tea. Combining two bright ruby reds, this drink’s very appearance lifts your mood. With its cool, refreshing taste, you’ll find yourself gulping it down on a hot summer’s day!
〔Ingredients for an easy-to-make batch〕
Red shiso syrup, as needed
Hibiscus tea, as needed
Ice, as needed
〔Instructions〕
【1】Brew a strong hibiscus tea. Add ice and chill well.
【2】Place ice in each glass. Combine equal parts red shiso syrup and hibiscus tea. Stir well.
〔Tips on how to enjoy〕
The simplest way to enjoy red shiso syrup is diluted with water or soda water. It also tastes excellent mixed with iced tea or 100 percent citrus juice (orange juice, grapefruit juice, etc.). Whatever beverage you mix it with, the rule of thumb is to combine the two in equal parts.
Idea #2: Enjoy in a dessert
＜Red shiso syrup and amazake jelly＞
Because it’s so sweet, red shiso syrup pairs wonderfully with semisweet amazake jelly! This cool, refreshing dessert has a smooth, silky mouthfeel, making it perfect for serving guests on a hot summer’s day.
〔Ingredients for 2–3 servings〕
½ cup red shiso syrup
1½ cups amazake (sweet fermented rice beverage)
4 g agar powder
2–3 lemon slices
〔Instructions〕
【1】Place the agar powder in a bowl with half a cup of water and dissolve.
【2】Place the amazake and agar in a pan and boil for 1 minute over medium-low heat.
【3】Pour the mixture into a lightly wetted mold. Let cool and set at room temperature for 20 minutes.
【4】Once the jelly sets, chill it well in the fridge. Cut into bite-size pieces and serve. Evenly pour the red shiso syrup over it and garnish with a lemon slice.
〔Tips on how to enjoy〕
Red shiso syrup can be chilled and enjoyed as is on agar or shaved ice. It also tastes delicious mixed with water and frozen in the form of sherbet. Garnishing it with something tangy like lemon gives it an even more refreshing, summery taste.
〔The featured amazake:〕
『Plus Koji Amazake Made from Rice Koji』
An amazake made with nothing but rice, rice koji, and table salt. The mild sweetness of rice and rice koji spreads across the palate thanks to the action of the enzymes in the koji. Amazake is so rich in nutrients it’s known as a superfood. It contains just the right amount of sodium too. Recommended for staying hydrated in summer.
Click here to visit the Marukome Amazake page, which describes how amazake is made and features recipes using it.
Idea #3: Use in your cooking
＜Red shiso syrup and steamed chicken salad＞
An ethnic salad made with steamed chicken and green beans. The delicious-smelling nam pla dressing is sweetened with red shiso syrup. The red shiso flavor makes this salad positively addictive!
〔Ingredients for 2–3 servings〕
1 chicken breast (250 g)
80 cc sake
10 green beans
⅓ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. olive oil
［Dressing ingredients］
2 tbsp. red shiso syrup
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. nam pla
3 stalks coriander, chopped
2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
Coarse-ground black pepper, to taste
〔Instructions〕
【1】Place the chicken and sake in a frying pan with half a cup of water and poach over low heat for 10 minutes.
【2】Add the beans (with the ends lopped off) and poach for a further 3 minutes.
【3】Add the salt and olive oil and blend in well. Once the chicken has cooled slightly, cut it into bite-size pieces and dish up with the beans.
【4】Sprinkle the coriander and sesame seeds on top. Mix the dressing ingredients together well and drizzle on. Season with coarse-ground black pepper to taste.
〔Tips on how to enjoy〕
When making salad dressing, try using red shiso syrup in place of sugar or cane sugar. It can also be used in place of mirin (sweet cooking sake) as a sweetener for stewed chicken or steamed fish. Because it has a nice punch, it goes well with ethnic seasonings like nam pla as well.
