Anyone use leaves from chili plants?

[Leggy Peggy]

I hadn't realised that chili leaves are used quite a bit in Asian cooking -- especially in South-East Asia. I have a book called Cooking with Asian leaves and they aren't even mentioned there. Anyone have experience cooking with them?

[Molly53]

chile leaf = chilli leaf = chili leaf = la ot = rau ot
This herb isn't nearly as hot as the chile that comes from the same plant. It's sometimes used as a cooking green in Southeast Asia. Substitutes: spinach (not as pungent)

Chili pepper plant leaves, mildly bitter but not nearly as hot as the vegetables that come from the same plant, are cooked as greens in Filipino cuisine, where they are called dahon ng sili (literally "chili leaves"). They are used in the chicken soup, tinola. In Korean cuisine, the leaves may be used in kimchi. In Japanese cuisine, the leaves are cooked as greens, and also cooked in tsukudani style for preservation.

Chili leaves have long been used medicinally as a remedy for diarrhea and other digestive problems. For this purpose the leaves are usually used to make tea, although they can also be eaten by shredding and mixing them with other food.

Chili leaves also have a traditional use as a plaster which can be applied to the skin to treat joint aches, sprains, swelling, burns and insect bites. For this purpose 2-5 leaves are used, making sure they are moist enough to adhere to the ache's area.

[Rinshinomori]

I have never heard of chili leaves used in Japanese cooking. Japanese do not use chili except in dry form. Never as greens.

[Leggy Peggy]

Thanks Molly for the detail.

Nona -- like you I had not heard of them being used in Japanese cuisine -- or any cuisine for that matter.

[gilbz]

thanks for inviting me here molly. yep, chili leaves are not widely used in Filipino or Asian dishes. But it is used in a Filipino dish called Tinolang Manok (Chicken Ginger Stew). This I know first hand.

Here's a recipe for this dish: http://www.filipinofoodrecipes.net/chickenstew.htm

[FuzzyKiwi]

These leaves are not used in Japanese cooking as far as I know. Native Japanese tend not to fare well with even mild spiciness; moderately spicy chips considered mild by fellow international students have been known to get my native Japanese dorm-mates at Ritsumeikan U fanning themselves and downing drinks most comically. I've spent time in Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima in Honshu and in Oita and Fukuoka in Kyushu, and I've never seen chili leaves sold in grocery stores, where I tend to spend a great deal of time looking over offerings of gorgeous fresh-cut herbs and fungi.

The two foreign readings you provided are Vietnamese: "lá ớt" (literally "leaf chili") and "rau ớt" (literally "greens chili.") However, I've seen chili leaves used in Vietnamese cuisine neither in Little Saigon in southern California (the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam) nor in the two major cities in Vietnam: the southern port city of Saigon and the national capital city of Hanoi up north. I am familiar with central Vietnamese cuisine as well, and the exquisite delicacies and complex soups that originated in the old Imperial seat do not use chili leaves, either.

PS: Chili peppers are not vegetables. ("Chili pepper plant leaves, mildly bitter but not nearly as hot as the vegetables that come from the same plant.") They're seeded. Therefore, they are considered fruits.

[Chef @Oz]

While in Japan, I never came across Chili plant leaves and I tried every new unusual food I could find.
As the Wikipedia noted that the Koreans use it, maybe the use in Japan is within the Korean population there. (Molly, thnx for the suggestion to add a comment)

[Leggy Peggy]

It's wonderful to see so many new faces here.

A special hello to Chef @Oz
I live in Canberra too. Where are you?

[Chef @Oz]

So I am not alone in Canberra, eh! I'm in Ainslie, where are you?
Desiree

[mama in Japan]

Hi! Thank you for inviting me. I didn't even realize there was a forum for Asian cooking. How fun!

Japanese red pepper is used fresh or dried, I have never heard of using chili leaves in cooking Japanese food. Makes me want to ask some of my friends and see what they say!

[David43515]

This is the first I`ve ever heard of using chili leaves for anything. I`ll ask around. I quit working in the resturaunt biz and now I teach Jr high English just outside Sapporo Japan, but I still know lots of chefs. I`m having dinner with one tomorrow, so I`ll ask him.

I`ve never spent much time on the forums, but I`m glad I was invited to chime in. I love most Asian cooking, and I`m always excited about learning more.

I was also suprised to see so many Aussies here. The town I teach in is a ski resort and we have quite a few Aussies that come back every year. Several have even built vacation homes here, and we spend alot of time every winter sharing good food and good times.

[Leggy Peggy]

Chef @Oz wrote:
So I am not alone in Canberra, eh! I'm in Ainslie, where are you?
Desiree

Howdy neighbour -- I'm in Campbell. Must have a coffee sometime.

[Rinshinomori]

mama in Japan wrote:
Hi! Thank you for inviting me. I didn't even realize there was a forum for Asian cooking. How fun!

Japanese red pepper is used fresh or dried, I have never heard of using chili leaves in cooking Japanese food. Makes me want to ask some of my friends and see what they say!

No, we do not use fresh red chili pepper in Japanese cooking. Only dried form.

[Crafty Lady 13]

Thanks for the invite, Molly.

I am half Japanese and was born in Tokyo. I have never heard of using chili leaves in Japanese cooking. I didn't even know that you could use chili leaves. I cook Japanese style dishes often, and the only part of the chili plant I have used is the dried chili left whole in the dishes. These are only used to season the dishes and are not eaten.

Thanks for letting me participate in this discussion.

[Sueisabel]

This is a key ingredient used in the Filipino chicken stew together with green papaya and ginger. It does not have a strong flavor and can easily replace chinese spinach.