This recipe is probably one that you will only undertake if you have lived in Asia or have access to a really good Asian produce store. I had dinner in Koreatown on Wednesday and (of course) couldn't make it home without doing a grocery shop run there.
I am on a tight self-imposed budget but am enamored of both the slightly medicinal flavor of sesame leaves and the grassy ones of chrysanthemum leaves so broke down and bought both. FYI - though they are often both marketed under the name "perilla", sesame leaves should not be confused with green shiso. Shiso is a small, delicate, floral tasting herb that looks a bit like a maple leaf. Sesame leaves look like a cross between collard greens and tobacco and are tough, with a camphor like citrusy taste.
L. and I usually follow a pattern and eat vegetarian food on Friday but that will have to wait until next week as all these greens scream pork (at least in my mind). This all probably has more salt in one meal than is truly good for us but it feels healthy because of the intake of the trinity of greens. L., for whom I made the rice because I feared dinner would not be substantial enough if I didn't, has asked that I make this again but that I omit the rice sprinkled with furikake (seaweed flakes) as he felt it detracted from the flavors of the greens.
If making rice, click here for the perfect recipe and make it. The cooking and steaming time is what you need to get the other elements ready.
2 oz package fresh pea leaves
1 lb package chrysanthemum leaves, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 bunches sesame leaves, also chopped into bite sized pieces
1 lb ground pork
1 cup chicken or turkey stock
2 Tbsps + 1 tsp olive oil
2 tsps rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce + 2 tsps
1/4 tsp sesame oil
2 tsps sugar
1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp Chinese black bean with garlic paste
Salt
If making rice get that underway and in the oven.
Over medium heat, bring the poultry stock to a boil in a saucepan. As soon as the stock has boiled, lower the heat, add the chrysanthemum leaves and cover. Cook, stirring from time to time until the leaves are tender and the liquid has been nearly completely absorbed, about 20 minutes because chrysanthemum leaves are tough. Season with salt and set aside off the heat. The greens should look like the stewed collard greens that come with proper BBQ.
Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil and the black bean paste in a large skillet. I have found that somewhere between low to medium heat yields the best result for this as you want the dish to cook slowly and uninterrupted so that the pork can crisp up as it cooks. As soon as the black bean paste absorbs all of the oil and is very fragrant, add the pork. Cook, stirring just enough to keep it from burning until it is cooked through and full of "crispy bits". Add 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and stir well. Set aside.
In a separate pan also over medium heat, heat the 1/3 cup soy sauce, water, sesame oil and sugar together. As soon as the sugar has melted and the liquid is boiling, lower the heat and add the sesame leaves. Cook, stirring from time to time for about 10 minutes until the leaves are cooked through and tender. Set aside.
Mix the remaining olive oil and the vinegar together in a bowl to make a vinaigrette. Toss the pea shoots in the sauce.
Right about now your rice should not only be cooked but should have steamed. Assemble your dish by putting 1/4 of each element in a bowl and arranging as attractively as you have it in you at that particular moment.