Thanks for the A2A. We are at the height of perilla season, one of my favorite things to eat.

Here are some of my favorite things to do with it:
*Just fresh, with some rice, topped with a little bit of miso. If I was gonna get slightly fussy, I would mix the miso with some mashed garlic and gochujang. Variations on this are putting different kinds of thinly sliced grilled meats on top of the rice.
*My all-time favorite is to make jun with it: Pan-fried perilla leaves with fillings. By the way, this is a great dish for a party.
*You can also put it in different soups like jigae
*You can slice it thin and mix it into your bibimbap

If you suffer an embarrassment of riches where perilla leaves are concerned, you can more or less pickle it in soy sauce and use it year round. My mother often used to do this when she grew perilla leaves — after pickling it, she would stash away large batches in the freezer as well as the refrigerator. Perilla Leaves Pickled in Tangy Soy Sauce (Kkaetnip Jangajji) | Kimchimari

You might also enjoy this article that I ran across while looking up links to the recipes: How to eat Perilla - 10 ways to enjoy them in Korean cooking! | Kimchimari. I was particularly interested in #10, the Shabu Shabu Mille Feuille. My husband and I are seriously addicted to the Korean show, Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast. A few weeks ago, we watched an episode where they made this (although I can’t remember if they included perilla leaves). As my mother gifted me her shabu shabu pan before moving to the other coast, I’ve been thinking I should seriously try this out…but in the winter time.

Lastly, let me say how jealous I am that you have perilla plants. As you say, they are a gift that keeps on giving, year after year. My mother used to grow them as well and I had perilla leaves in abundance. Now that she’s moved, I have to pay a pretty penny, given how many leaves I can eat in one sitting.