Noodles and Rice

Shungiku Chrysanthemum leaves

by Tom on November 24th, 2007

Coming from Australia I always thought that Chrysanthemums were just flowers that became popular each year around Mother’s Day.  How wrong was I.

Chrysanthemum leaves have become a regular member of my shopping basket thanks to their relationship with Shabu Shabu and Sukiyaki.  Both of these recipes can benefit from the strangely familiar and delicious flavour of fresh chrysanthemum leaves.  I think they are strangely familiar because they taste quite like the decorative flowers smell, though I can’t explain how a taste could be the same as a smell. 

Anyhow a bunch of these, washed picked off the stems and cooked until they are just tender is a real eye opener.  Their strangely floral flavour will become a feature of whatever they are cooked in, so be careful if you combine them with subtle flavours.

As to whether they are picked from conventional flowering chrysanthemum plants or not, I cannot say.  Does anyone else know?

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POSTED IN: Ingredient Spotlight, Japanese