Perilla - A Garden Favorite for Tummy Trouble

A photo of Perilla that I took at Bastyr University in Seattle. 

Perilla is one herb that I always have growing in the garden.  It is simple to grow from seed and once it gets started is self sows easily.  It doesn't need any special attention.  The scientific name is Perilla frutesces, but other names include Beef Steak Plant and Shiso.  The Chinese name for the plant is Zi Su, or purple fish-smell.  It does have an odd smell and mild pungent flavor.  Different parts of the plant are used in Chinese Medicine, the leaves Zi Su Ye, the seeds Zi Su Zi and the stems Zi Su Geng.  It is used traditionally to relieve nausea and vomiting, for morning sickess, and seafood poisoning.  I use the leaves exclusively.  

Perilla leaf up close under the microscope.

The first time I used fresh perilla leaf was when my daughter Moira was a baby or toddler.    I forget exactly how old she was, but she had been vomiting.  It is so sad to see little kids sick like that when they are so young.  What I did was just take a new leaf of Perilla and chew it up a bit first and then give it to her.  It really cleared up the vomiting right away.  I know that there was at least one other occasion to use it.  The perilla is very safe for pregnant women with vomiting also.  I have also tinctured perilla to have on hand to use in the winter when no fresh herb is available.  

Here we were on a day when she was feeling her normal happy self.  This picture is from our old house on Palmetto Ave in Daytona.

It had been a while since I had needed to use any Perilla, but this week Tessa had an upset stomach too.  She threw up before bed, then again in the morning.  I was so glad that I have always let this 'weed' go to seed.  Tessa is an avid gardener and always happy to try new vegetables or edible weeds in the garden.  She even likes tasting my herbal tinctures by the drop.   Her she is watering my Rosemary bush that she likes to take little bites of.

Tessa watering the plants.

But after being so sick and throwing up, Tessa was not her usual self.  She was scared to try a new leaf or a new tincture.  Luckily for me I was able to reason with her.  She is such a smart little girl.  I told her that when her sister Moira was a baby, I gave her the Perilla leaf to eat when she was sick and it made her feel better.  Tessa looked at me very seriously and took 3 very small bite of a quarter-sized new Perilla leaf.  After that there was no more vomiting, so I was very happy.  I put 3-5 drops of tincture in her milk the rest of the day just to be cautious.

Perilla is such a common herb.  I found seeds easily for my Perilla on a Garden Swap Forum.

Souper Tonic Recipe for Stock & Miso Soup

This is a special soup stock recipe that contains immune boosting and general tonic herbs to keep you strong or give you an added boost if your body needs strengthening. Tonics such as those included in this recipe are great to take especially during two particular changes of season when colds are common. These two periods are the Summer to Autumn transition and the Winter to Summer transition. Another great time to prepare a soup like this is during periods of athletic training and conditioning. Tonics are also beneficial for those with chronic illnesses or those who are recovering from an acute illness (but not during acute infection).

As for me, I made this soup recently to build my strength and energy for my upcoming home birth and delivery. I especially added Red Raspberry leaf for this purpose. You are free to leave that ingredient out if you are not pregnant, post partum, or trying to conceive (Red Raspberry leaf is also beneficial for both men and women with fertility issues). If you wish to substitute Red Raspberry leaf for something else, then you could substitute double the amount of celery or other fresh garden greens. A second alternative would be to substitute the Red Raspberry leaf for additional dried Nettle.

Soup Stock Ingredients with a Few Attributes of Main Tonics:

3 carrots
1 large onion
2 oz dry shitake mushrooms: immune enhancer, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant.
1 cup dried Red Rasperry Leaf: uterine tonic, promotes efficient labor and delivery, fertility tonic for women and men
1 cup dried Oatstraw: nourishes the nervous system, calming, relaxing, especially for those with mild anxiety and insomnia
3/4 cup dried Dulce Seaweed: benefits the Thyroid for underactive Thyroid function, mineral rich, anti-stress, and soothes or lubricates irritated tissues.
1/2 cup dried Nettle: high in vitamins, minerals and protein, benefits the immune system and kidneys, blood building for Iron-deficient anaemics
1/3 cup dried Lemongrass: a flavorful immune system booster, benefits digestive system
1/4 cup dried Astragalus Root powder: #1 energy and immune system tonic used in Traditional Chinese medicine
5 garlic cloves lowers blood sugar, benefits the circulatory system, anti-microbial
1 tsp fresh Thyme (or 1/2 tsp dry)
1/2 tsp Black pepper

Directions:

Add all the ingredients into a large non-metallic pot and cover with water. Make sure all the dry herbs are soaked well. Cover the vegetables and herbs such that there is about 4-6 inches of water over the level of the ingredients (for this recipe around 5 quarts or more of water). Bring the water to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.

Allow stock to cool somewhat. Line a colander with multi-layers of cheese cloth or a natural cotton, hemp or linen cloth. Strain and press out the soup stock into a new pot.

Reserve 3 cups to make miso soup if you would like to make soup right away. The rest can be stored in quart containers or freezer bags in the refrigerator or the freezer. Soup stock stored in the refrigerator should be used within 3 days. Soup stock stored in the freezer can be used within 6 months.

Now here is the easy part:

Miso Soup Recipe

3 cups soup stock from above
3 Tablespoons Miso paste
sliced green onions to garnish

Persons with high blood pressure should reduce the amount of Miso paste by half or more.

Enjoy!