Japanese-inspired Shiso Chirimen Fried Rice

There was a Kyushu food fair going on recently at a supermarket in town. I happened to be there strolling along the aisles in my own carefree moment when a Japanese guy politely smiled and invited me to try out the products he was selling at his booth - a variety of different seaweeds. After tasting of a couple of different flavors, I decided to show him some support and bought a packet of shiso chirimen - which is seaweed with dried anchovies and toasted sesame seeds. According to him, people in Japan eat shiso chirimen with rice at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Further cooking is not necessary as it can be eaten straight from the packet. As my husband and I are both rice-loving people but with some hesitation of eating it with plain rice, I decided to make a simple Japanese-inspired fried rice instead - with lots of chopped garlic!

With the intention to blog about this ingredient, I 'googled' to double check on what shiso chirimen means [not that I didn't trust the Japanese guy!..just that I wanted to enhance my knowledge :)..]. What I found on the web was that shiso refers to a type of plant with paper-thin leaves with jagged edges which is also called perilla or beefsteak plant or chinese basil or purple mint, and chirimen refers to small anchovies. The description of shiso on the web doesn't say anything about it being seaweed at all. So, I'm confused. Is it seaweed or is it not? (If anyone knows, please enlighten me.) But it sure tasted like seaweed & I'm very sure the Japanese guy knows his stuff. Anyway, seaweed or not, it added a really nice leafy flavor to the fried rice and it made up for the need for any other ingredients other than garlic & eggs to whip up an easy, quick & delicious fried rice meal.

Shiso chirimen

Recipe:
- 1 big bowl of cooked long grain rice (best if the rice has been left in the fridge overnight, but not entirely necessary)
- 4-5 pips garlic, chopped
- 3 shallots, chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1 small bowl of shiso chirimen
- Some mini/cherry tomatoes, halve
- Dash of salt & pepper
- 3 tbsp cooking oil + 1 tsp sesame seed oil

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok/pan and break the 2 eggs inside. Stir and fry, breaking the eggs into pieces. When slightly browned, dish out and set aside. Heat the remaining oil and saute the chopped garlic and shallots until they are brown and fragrant. Mix in the shiso chirimen, tomatoes, rice, fried eggs, salt and pepper and stir fry for 4-5 minutes. If it gets too dry, add in 1 tbsp of water at a time if needed while stir frying the rice. Dish up & serve. A simple, quick and inexpensive meal!

Cheers,