Shiso Kosho from Nakatsu, Oita
$19.00
Sale price
$19.00
Regular price
Skip to product information
Shiso Kosho from Nakatsu, Oita
$19.00
Sale price
$19.00
Regular price
★★★★★ 100% positive · 629 eBay orders shipped worldwide — read our customer voices
Shipping calculated at checkout
Green shiso from an Oita farm, aged with green chili and salt — the herb's fresh aroma, kept in a jar on the shelf.
Fresh shiso leaves bruise easily and keep only a few days, and outside Japan they can be hard to find. That is why we chose this jar. It is made the way yuzu kosho is, with chili and salt, but with shiso in place of citrus peel, and it waits in the pantry until you need it. Two producers in Oita make it: a farm that has grown shiso since 1970, and a soy sauce brewery that has been in business since 1905.
Highlights
- Three ingredients: chili pepper, shiso, and salt.
- Shiso from Ueki Farm in Oita, a large-scale shiso grower honored with Japan's Prime Minister's Award.
- Made by Tanaka Shoyu-ten, a soy sauce brewery in Nakatsu founded in 1905.
- Not available through major retailers — sourced directly from the producer.
Details, ingredients & allergens
Contents: 40g (1.4 oz) jar
Ingredients: Chili pepper (Japan), shiso (Oita Prefecture), salt
Origin: Nakatsu, Oita
Shelf life: 180 days from the production date (unopened)
Storage: Keep at room temperature away from direct sunlight. After opening, refrigerate (below 50°F / 10°C) and use soon.
Servings: About 40 small dabs per jar — a little goes a long way.
Producer's story
The leaves come from Ueki Farm in Oita City. In 1970, a husband and wife began growing shiso and daikon sprouts there, and the farm has grown into one of Japan's large-scale shiso growers. It has been honored with the Prime Minister's Award at Japan's national Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Festival and, in 2014, the Medal with Yellow Ribbon. The leaves are carefully picked by hand.
The jar is made in Nakatsu, on the northern coast of Oita, by Tanaka Shoyu-ten. The brewery opened in 1905, when the town had some twenty miso and soy sauce makers. The fourth-generation president studied brewing at the Tokyo University of Agriculture, worked at another soy sauce maker, and came home at 25. Door-to-door delivery to regular customers — the way the brewery had always sold — was fading, so he cleaned out and repainted the old storehouse and turned it into the brewery's shop, which local people still visit today. He began making dressings and seasonings from Kyushu produce alongside the soy sauce and miso.
When Ueki Farm asked him for new ways to use their shiso, the answer was a shiso sauce in the style of pesto, which won an award at the Japan Vegetable Sommelier Association's seasoning championship in 2011. This shiso kosho belongs to the same family of products, made from the same Oita leaves.
Flavor profile
A bright green-chili heat comes first, then the cool, fresh aroma of shiso, with salt holding the two together. Start with a dab the size of a pea.
Cooking ideas
At home, we set a small dab on chilled tofu, with tomatoes and green peppers on the side.
We also put a dab on top of potato salad, to mix in as you eat.
Spread a little onto yakitori or grilled chicken thighs just after they come off the heat.
Stir it into ponzu or sesame sauce for hot pot dipping.
Loosen a spoonful with olive oil and spoon it over grilled vegetables or white fish.
For more ways with shiso, try our Shiso Miso.
Ships from Japan · Order more, pay less per item