{"id":3385,"date":"2025-02-12T23:22:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T14:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yasai-yakuzen.com\/?p=3385"},"modified":"2026-09-07T18:15:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T09:15:36","slug":"sanchu","status":"publish","type":"vegtable","link":"https:\/\/yasai-yakuzen.com\/en\/vegtable\/sanchu\/","title":{"rendered":"The benefits of sanchu lettuce"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sanchu, or chisha, is bitter and cool, a leaf vegetable held to settle excess heat in the body and to settle the circulation of water. It suits daily care when heat builds up in the body, or when you want something of the summer, and its crisp bite and faint bitterness are what it is loved for. As well as wrapping grilled meat, it is easy to use in salads, stir-fries and soups.<\/p>\n

\"Chisha\"<\/figure>\n

When sanchu is in season, its types, and how to choose it<\/h2>\n

If you want to enjoy what sanchu does, it helps to know its season, its types and how to choose it. Harvested leaf by leaf, soft and easy to wrap with, it is the leaf vegetable familiar from grilled meat.<\/p>\n

In season in spring and autumn, a leaf vegetable picked leaf by leaf<\/h3>\n

Sanchu is a relative of lettuce, one of the leaf vegetables called kaki chisha, which do not form a head. It can be harvested leaf by leaf from the outside, and new leaves keep coming. Grown under glass it is available all year, but the season for the field-grown crop is spring, around March to May, and autumn, around September to November, when the leaves are soft and carry more sweetness. In Japan it is familiar as the leaf you wrap grilled meat in, and it is indispensable in Korean cooking. The leaves cook quickly and work raw or cooked, which makes it an easy leaf vegetable to handle.<\/p>\n

Sanchu, sunny lettuce and butterhead lettuce<\/h3>\n

Several leaf vegetables among sanchu's lettuce relatives do not form a head.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
kinds<\/th>\nWhat stands out<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Sanchu (kaki chisha)<\/td>\nPicked leaf by leaf. Soft, and suited to wrapping grilled meat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sunny lettuce<\/td>\nA leaf lettuce with red-purple tips. Good colour, for salads<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Butterhead lettuce<\/td>\nSoft leaves forming a loose head. For salads and as a garnish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

Soft sanchu for grilled meat and for wrapping, sunny lettuce for a colourful salad, butterhead lettuce for a gentle texture: you can choose by use. None of them is harsh, and all can be used quickly, raw or cooked. Choosing to play to each one widens what you can cook.<\/p>\n

How to choose and handle them<\/h3>\n

When picking out good sanchu, these are the things to look for.<\/p>\n