Winter brings a variety of delicious leafy vegetables, which make nutritious additions to pots. Leafy vegetables, with their vivid green color, make us feel healthy just by looking at them. Among all the leafy vegetables, mitsuba is the one we’ll feature here.
Mitsuba warms the body and suppresses coughs due to illness. When you start to feel ill, we recommend making a hot drink with mitsuba, ginger, and Tokyo-negi mixed with hot water.
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Mitsuba -Aromatic herb of Winter-
Mitsuba, which means “three leaves,” was named after the shape of its leaf, which is divided into three parts. Its leaf and stem are edible. Mitsuba is a perennial umbellifer plant grown in Japan. Umbellifers are herbs acterized by a refreshing aroma. The aroma comes from substances called cryptotaenene and mitsubaene, which have the effects of calming the nerves, relieving stress, curing insomnia and stimulating the appetite. These are also known sedatives effective in treating sleeplessness and irritation/frustration.
Additionaly, mitsuba contains beta carotene, calcium and potassium, among which potassium is particularly beneficial in improving the balance of the components of the blood.
Among herbs, mitsuba—characterized by its unique aroma and mild taste that everyone loves–is widely used as a condiment and in osui-mono (clear soup), ohitashi (boiled, seasoned vegetable dish), chawan-mushi (pot-steamed egg custard), etc. One word of caution when cooking mitsuba is not to overheat it, because doing so will reduce its aroma and crispness. When you put mitsuba into soup, etc., do so after the heat is turned off.
Mitsuba is often sold with roots attached. Rooted mitsuba will last many days as long as it’s protected from drying.
To keep mitsuba fresh, spray it with a mist of water and then place it in a sealable plastic bag. It’s important that mitsuba be kept from exposure to air.
Good mitsuba gives off an intense aroma and has a vivid green color.
Be sure to choose fresh mitsuba without discolored stems.
How to cook Mitsuba? (Mitsuba Recipes)
Japanese Pasta with Mitsuba Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 2-3 bunches mitsuba
- 1 abura-age
- 7 oz. pasta
- 2 pinches of salt
- 1 tsp. Nijiya Japanese soup base powder
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- Black pepper as needed
- Olive oil as needed
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Cooking Directions
- Remove excess oil from the abura-age and cut into 1/4 in. thick strips. Cut the mitsuba into 2 in. lengths. Separate the stalks with the leaves. Mince the garlic.
- Heat olive oil and garlic in a pan and gently fry over low heat until fragrant and fry the abura-age until crisp.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt and cook the pasta 1 min. less than directed on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.
- Drain the pasta. Add the mitsuba stalks to the pan with the abura-age and cook briefly. Add the pasta.
- Pour pasta water into the pan, season with dashi, soy sauce and black pepper, tossing until pasta is well coated.
- Transfer to a dish and garnish with mitsuba.
Mitsuba and Garlic Tempura Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 4-5 springs mitsuba
- 2 cloves garlic, julienned
- 0.4 oz. chirimen-jyako (dried whitebait)
- Tempura batter as needed
- Oil for deep frying
Cooking Directions
- Prepare a deep-fryer.
- Cut the mitsuba into 3/4 in. lengths. Cut into thin strips. Prepare tempura batter with adequate amount of cold water. Combine garlic, mitsuba and chirimen-jyako into the batter and roughly mix together.
- Heat oil to 340°F (170°C). Use a spoon to gather the battered vegetables together and deep fry on both sides until crisp.
Chicken and Egg on Rice with Plenty of Mitsuba Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 2 bunches mitsuba
- 7 oz. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 tsp. Nijiya powdered Japanese soup base
- 10 oz. water
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. mirin
Cooking Directions
- Slice the chicken diagonally into bite-size pieces.
- Loosely beat the eggs in a small bowl. In a pan, combine dashi, water, soy sauce, sugar, mirin, onions and chicken and cook until onion are tender. When the chicken is cooked through, pour half of the egg mixture over the surface and cook to a boil.
- Pour the remaining eggs into the pan. Cover with a lid and turn off the heat. Add mitsuba and close the lid again to let steam.
Mitsuba and Chicken with Ume Dressing Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 1 bunch mitsuba
- 1 pack enoki mushroom
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 pieces large chicken tenders
- 2 tsp. cooking sake
- 2 umeboshi
- 2 tsp. mirin
Cooking Directions
- In a pan, bring water to a boil and add cooking sake. Boil the chicken and turn off the heat. Let cool.
- Cut mitsuba and enoki into 2 in. lengths. In another pan, heat water to a boil, add salt and boil mitsuba and enoki for a few seconds. Soak in water and drain. Gently squeeze out excess water.
- Prepare the umeboshi. Remove the pit and chop umeboshi into a paste. Transfer to a large bowl and add mirin. Shred the chicken into strips. Combine mitsuba, enoki and chicken into the umeboshi dressing.
- Toss gently to coat just before serving and transfer to a serving dish.
Mitsuba and Egg Rice Porridge Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 1-1/2 bowls rice
- Water (2-3 times the volume of rice)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 bunch mitsuba
- 1/2 tsp. Nijiya Japanese soup base powder
- 13.5 oz. water
- 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
- A small amount of Katakuriko (diluted with an equal amount of water)
Cooking Directions
- Place rice and water (2-3 times the volume of rice) in a pan. Mix roughly to break up the rice. Simmer over low to medium heat until the rice porridge reaches the desired thickness. Set aside.
- Beat the egg in a small bowl. Cut the mitsuba into 3/4 in. lengths.
- In a separate pan, heat water to a boil and add Nijiya Japanese soup base powder. Reduce heat to low and simmer.
- Pour in the katakuriko mixture to thicken. Stir in the egg. Add mitsuba and turn off the heat.
- Transfer the rice porridge to a bowl and pour the egg sauce on top.
Vermicelli and Mitsuba Salad Recipe
Ingredients (Serves 2)
- 1.4 oz. vermicelli
- 1/2 bunch mitsuba
- 4 cherry tomatoes
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. mirin
- Black sesame to taste
Cooking Directions
- Soak vermicelli in water according to package directions. Cut into lengths that are easy to eat. Quarter the cherry tomatoes. Set aside a few mitsuba leaves for garnish, and par-boil the rest. Soak in cold water and wipe with a paper towel. Cut the mitsuba into 1 to 1.5 in. lengths.
- Mix dressing in a large bowl and add the ingredients from Step1. Gently toss to mix. Transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with black sesame and garnish with mitsuba.
