How to Use Shiso Powder: Ooba and Red Shiso Powder Recipes, Selection, and Storage

“Shiso powder,” made by turning ōba or red shiso into powder, is a handy seasoning that adds shiso’s aroma and color to dishes with no chopping effort and no food scraps. But many people don’t know “what dishes it works in” or “how it differs from fresh shiso,” and leave it sitting unused.

This article compiles, from a dried-vegetable maker’s perspective, the uses and recipes for ōba powder and red shiso powder each, how to choose the right one for your use, and storage after opening. We focus on easy uses—just sprinkle on or mix into dishes.

What Shiso Powder Is | The Features of Ōba Powder and Red Shiso Powder

Shiso powder is a food made by drying green shiso (ōba) or red shiso and grinding it into powder. Since the flavor and use change by color, let’s first cover the features of each.

Features of Ōba Powder (Green Shiso)

Ōba powder is a seasoning that captures the refreshing aroma of green shiso (ao-jiso) in powder form. Its vivid green lets you add color and aroma to dishes at the same time.

• A refreshing aroma that suits both Japanese and Western dishes
• The green color stands out, making it a colorful accent
• Being a powder, it’s easy to knead into dough or batter

Features of Red Shiso Powder

Red shiso powder is a powder made by drying red shiso, giving rice the reddish-purple color of yukari furikake. Since it contains no ume vinegar, its tartness and saltiness are mild, and combined with salt it easily makes a “yukari-style” rice.

• Reddish-purple, suited to coloring rice and rice balls
• With red shiso’s characteristic mild flavor, easy to combine with salt or sugar
• Combined with salt it becomes “red shiso salt”; mixed into rice it becomes “yukari-style”

Differences from Fresh Shiso and Dried Shiso

Fresh shiso has an exceptional aroma, but it doesn’t keep long and takes effort to chop. Whereas dried shiso (leaves or flakes) is rehydrated to use, the biggest difference with powder is that you can sprinkle it on as-is. Fresh shiso loses freshness easily and doesn’t keep, while powder stores long at room temperature and lets you take out just the small amount you want. Using fresh shiso for dishes where you want to enjoy the aroma as-is, and powder for dishes where you want to easily add flavor and color, avoids waste.

The difference between ōba and green shiso is explained in detail inexplained in "the difference between oba and green shiso.". Choosing dried types together withDried Oobaanddried red shisomakes it easier to use each for its purpose.

How to Use Ōba Powder and Recipes

The three basic ways to use ōba powder are “sprinkle,” “mix,” and “knead in.” Since the aroma comes through with a small amount, using it at the finish makes the most of its flavor.

Sprinkle On or Mix Into Dishes

The easiest is sprinkling it onto a finished dish. With no chopping effort, you add ōba’s condiment flavor.

• Sprinkle it as a condiment on chilled tofu, natto, or egg-over-rice
• Mix it into potato salad or mayonnaise for a Japanese touch
• Sprinkle it as a finish on fried chicken or fries

Knead into Dough or Batter

A use unique to powder is kneading it into dough or batter. With no chopping effort, the aroma spreads throughout the dough. Since heating softens the green color, when you want to keep the vivid green, sprinkling it on as a finish after cooking is recommended.

• Mix it into the dough of bread, cookies, or steamed buns
• Knead it into the dough of udon or pasta
• Add it to the batter of tempura or fried food for aroma

Make Dressings and Seasonings

Combined with oil or salt, it becomes an ōba-flavored seasoning. Keeping it on hand lets you quickly add aroma to daily cooking.

• Mix with olive oil, vinegar, and salt for an ōba dressing
• Use “ōba salt,” combined with salt, on tempura or grilled fish
• Mix it into butter or cream cheese for a dip

The easy one is ōba dressing. Just mix 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp vinegar, a little salt, and 1 tsp ōba powder for a Japanese-style dressing that suits salads and cold shabu-shabu. It keeps in the fridge for a few days, so making a batch is handy.

How to Use Red Shiso Powder and Recipes

The standard use of red shiso powder is on rice, like yukari. Making use of its color and flavor, it works as an accent for a dish’s color or taste.

Use on Rice and Rice Balls

Sprinkle red shiso powder on rice and you can use it like homemade yukari. It also suits adding color to rice balls and lunch boxes.

• Mix it into freshly cooked rice for red shiso rice
• Coat rice balls in it for color and flavor
• Sprinkle it on the white rice in a lunch box as an accent

Use for Color and Toppings

Make use of the reddish-purple as a topping that sets off a dish’s appearance. Even a small amount makes the color stand out.

• Sprinkle it as a finish on pasta or salad
• Scatter it on white-fish carpaccio or chilled pasta
• As a topping for cream cheese or yogurt

Arrange It into Red Shiso Salt or Red Shiso Seasoning

Combined with salt or sugar, it becomes an easy-to-keep red shiso seasoning. If you want to know more red shiso recipes, seeRed Shiso Recipes and Usesas well.

• Use “red shiso salt,” mixed 1:1 with salt, on rice balls, boiled eggs, or quick pickles
• Combine it with sugar for flavoring Japanese sweets or drinks

The easy one is red shiso rice. Just mix 1–2 tsp red shiso powder into two bowls of warm rice and add a little white sesame for a colorful mixed rice. Made into rice balls, you can enjoy red shiso flavor in a lunch box, too. Sprinkled on quick-pickled cucumber or turnip, it also makes a refreshing red-shiso-pickle-style side dish.

Using Shiso Powder in Food Production and Restaurants

Shiso powder is used not only in homes but also by food makers and restaurants. Since fresh shiso doesn’t keep long and tends to produce chopping effort and waste, switching to powder cuts down on labor and loss.

As a Raw Material or Seasoning for Processed Foods

Powder is easy to measure and consistent in quality, making it well suited to flavoring processed foods. Agriture, too, has supplied such raw materials through the use of off-spec vegetables and drying processing.

• Flavoring for furikake, ochazuke mix, and snacks
• Coloring and flavoring kneaded into the dough of bread, noodles, and sweets
• Blending into dressings, sauces, and seasonings

For Restaurant Menus and Prep

At restaurants, the advantage is being able to consistently produce shiso’s aroma and color while saving on prep effort. Being usable regardless of season, it also suits year-round menu offerings.

• As a finishing topping for pasta or dressed dishes
• Original seasonings such as tempura salt and condiment salt
• Coloring and flavoring in confectionery and bread making

How to Choose Shiso Powder | Choose by Domestic Origin, Additive-Free, and Use

Shiso powder varies by product in raw material and particle size. If you’re using it in cooking, choosing by raw material, additives, and an amount suited to your use is recommended. Checking the product-page information, and even the related raw-material labeling, avoids disappointment.

Choose by Raw Material and Origin

The origin of the raw material is a point that influences flavor. A product with a stated origin is easier to choose to match your use. Since the aroma comes through with a small amount, adding too much brings out bitterness or causes clumping. The trick is to add it little by little at first, tasting as you go.

• Check whether the raw material is domestically grown
• See whether the green-shiso or red-shiso type suits your use
• Check the strength of the aroma and the vividness of the color

Choose by Additives and Particle Size

Additive-free products without coloring agents or preservatives suit dishes where you want to make the most of the ingredient’s flavor. Choose the particle size (fineness of the powder) by use, too.

• Additive-free and uncolored lets you enjoy the ingredient’s natural aroma. If you’re concerned, check the ingredient labeling, the manufacturer, and its suitability for your use
• Fine powder suits kneading into dough and dressings
• Coarser powder suits furikake and toppings

Choose by Home Use or Commercial Use

Choose a small home-use pack or a large-volume commercial size to match the amount you use. Agriture’sOoba PowderandRed shiso powderis a vegetable powder made from domestically grown raw materials, usable from flavoring cooking to product development by food makers. Price, volume, and order lot can be chosen to suit your use, so it’s good to inquire and confirm before purchasing.

How to Store Shiso Powder and Tips for Using It Up

Shiso powder keeps well because it’s dried, but its weakness is being vulnerable to moisture and light. How you handle it after opening changes how long the aroma lasts.

Storage After Opening and Moisture Protection

• After opening, transfer it to an airtight container and store in a cool, dark place
• During humid seasons, store it in the refrigerator
• Don’t put a wet spoon in; use it in a dry state

If it has clumped, it’s a sign it has absorbed moisture. As long as there’s no off-smell or mold, you can use it in heated dishes, but don’t use it if you see discoloration or mold. For storing fresh shiso and dried shiso, seeHow to store obaand use it as a reference.

Ideas for Using It Up

Using it up while the aroma is still strong is the trick to enjoying shiso powder deliciously. Incorporating it a little at a time into various dishes uses it up without waste.

• Make a habit of sprinkling it on your morning egg dishes or toast
• Mix it into salt or mayonnaise to keep as a standby seasoning
• If it looks likely to be left over, process it all into dressing or furikake

A product catalog that shows around 100 items we handle

Agriture, flexibly handling everything from small lots to large lots

• Available from small lots of 100 g
• We handle heirloom vegetables from across Japan
• Dried fruit and herbs also supported

Download the materials here

Summary

Shiso powder is a seasoning that easily adds shiso’s aroma and color just by sprinkling, mixing, or kneading it in. Ōba powder as a refreshing condiment, red shiso powder for rice dishes and color—use each to make the most of its individuality.

When choosing, check whether it’s domestically grown and additive-free, and whether the particle size suits your use. After opening, store it away from moisture and use it up while the aroma is strong. Even when fresh shiso is out of season, with shiso powder you can enjoy shiso flavor all year round.

FAQ

Recommended reading

• What’s the difference between ōba and green shiso? Differences from red shiso, types, and how to use each
• Red Shiso Recipes and Uses | From Juice, Yukari, and Syrup to Storage
• Ōba Powder | Domestically grown green shiso powder for kneading and furikake
• Red Shiso Powder | Aka-jiso powder that adds color and flavor