Tag

umesu

Spring Food, Summer Food

Sakura No Ha Shiozuke (Salted Preserved Cherry Leaves)

Some times we need to plan ahead to reap the rewards later. You may be familiar with the Japanese spring time wagashi called Sakura mochi. A chewy pink glutinous rice ball filled with sweet bean paste and wrapped in an edible cherry blossom leaf.

The leaves are hard to obtain outside of Japan, but with a little planning ahead you to could be making these next spring. These pickled leaves capture the full unique fragrance of the Japanese Sakura. And now after the blossoms have gone and the new green leaves emerge is the perfect time to pick them.
I chose to use the leaves from Yaezakura the double blooms that come out later than all the other cherries. I also use this variety to make Sakura shiozuke pickled preserved cherry blossom for which I already have a recipe for on this site.
You will need to find a tree preferably away from a main road and free from pollution. I am lucky to have a row of these trees near where I live.

So on a rainy day in May I went and picked some of the new green leaves after the blossom had fallen to make pickled Sakura leaves for my wagashi next spring.

After returning with the leaves I picked out the biggest ones and carefully washed them.


You will need about 40g of leaves

For every 10g you will need 2g of fine salt this one is a Japanese salt I bought from sous chef

You will also need some umesu to pickle the leaves. Umesu is a traditional seasoning made by pickling umeboshi plums and red shiso leaves. I like to buy the one from Clearspring which is made in Japan.

After you have weighed your leaves put them in a bowl and blanch them with boiling water.

When you smell the steam you can smell the distinct aroma of Japanese Sakura.

Then lay them out on some kitchen towel, I did this in layers on top of each other and then gently pressed to dry them.

Then fold over each leaf and lay them in a plastic container with a lid.

Sprinkle over the salt and finally add around x4-5 tablespoons of umesu around and over the leaves.



Cover with some plastic wrap put on the lid and leave in a cool place for about a week. After this time wrap the leaves in plastic wrap and put them in a ziplock bag and keep them in the fridge until next year. The leaves will turn brown over time. When you want to use them soak the leaves to remove the salt in warm water for 15-20 minutes.
I hope you will be able to enjoy the taste of spring time in Japan. When you are ready to make sakura mochi I also have a recipe on this site for how to make those as well. If you haven’t made pickled Sakura blossom do not worry those are a little easier to obtain from asian supermarkets.

Blog, Spring Food

Sakura Shiozuke (pickled preserved Sakura cherry blossoms)

The unique flavour and aroma of salted pickled cherry blossom is very distinct and if you are a Japan lover you will know this smell automatically. In Japan the Sakura bloom for a very short time the fleeting essence of nature is celebrated by all things Sakura themed in Spring. You may have seen me in the past use shop bought salted pickled cherry blossoms in some of my recipes. They are used around Sakura season in Japan to decorate cakes, cookies and desserts and can also be used chopped in onigiri. One of the most popular is a wagashi called Sakura Mochi .

I decided to make my own Sakura shiozuke as they are preserved you can use them any time to make my Sakura cookie recipe or other recipes that call for salted Sakura.

Why not give making salted pickled Sakura blossoms a try. You will need to pick the pink Pom Pom looking double flowers known as Yaezakura.

Pick the blossom and put them in a bowl I used around 100g of blossom . Gently wash them.


Then add salt make sure it’s well mixed in . I added quite a bit about 20g. Then cover with cling film  and put a plate on top and weigh it down further with smaller plates then  leave them over night .



The next day take off your plates. I bought  ume su ( by clear spring ) and added to the blossom about 1/4 of the bottle.



Put the plastic wrap over and put the plates back on . Then leave that for three days . After this time pick out the blossom and put them on a wire rack with kitchen town in a warm place for 2 days .



Then peel them off the kitchen towel ( they are nearly dried but not quite at this point) put them on a bamboo tray you could use a few rolling matts or something like that and leave again to dry for a few more days .


At this point they should be dry and you can store them in a jar adding a bit more salt and save them til next year or use them straight away!

Happy Sakura Season !