The most exotic microgreens: shiso, mizuna, and tatsoi

Beyond the familiar lettuce, radish, broccoli and sunflower, a smaller group of species stands out for its unusual flavors and culinary uses. This article covers three of them: shiso, mizuna, and tatsoi.

Shiso: the Asian king

Red shiso is a highly popular microgreen in Asian cuisine thanks to its citrusy, floral, and slightly minty aroma. Its use has spread internationally due to its versatility in salads, bowls, sushi, and gourmet dishes. Shiso microgreens have also been analysed in the laboratory for rosmarinic acid — a phenolic compound — and for antioxidant activity measured in a test tube, which is a property of the extract rather than a demonstrated effect in people (Lee et al., 2023).

Mizuna and tatsoi: Japanese green microgreens

Among the Asian microgreens with a long history, mizuna and tatsoi also stand out. Both are valued for their mild, slightly peppery flavor, and both have been profiled for nutrient content in published studies — though not, as it turns out, by the same one.

Here is what the published data actually covers, crop by crop. Mizuna was one of seventeen species in a Frontiers in Plant Science study of microgreen yield and mineral profile; that study measured nitrogen, nitrate, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulphur, sodium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper and boron — minerals only, no antioxidants — and found composition to depend heavily on the species (Di Gioia et al., 2023). Tatsoi was not among those seventeen. For tatsoi we rely on a separate trial of four species — coriander, green basil, purple basil and tatsoi — run as an iodine-biofortification experiment: the plants were treated with potassium iodide, and the researchers measured antioxidant activity by three assays (ABTS, FRAP and DPPH) and identified ten phenolic acids and twenty-three flavonoids (Giordano et al., 2023). Iodine is the only mineral that trial addresses, so it does not give a general mineral profile for tatsoi. Both are composition measurements: they describe what is in the plant, not a demonstrated effect on anyone’s nutrition.

Beyond each specific species, studies have measured higher concentrations of particular vitamins, minerals and antioxidant compounds in microgreens than in the mature plant, gram for gram. That result holds for specific compounds in specific species rather than across the board, so it is not a general rule that every microgreen beats every mature vegetable on every nutrient.

These exotic microgreens follow that same pattern: high nutritional density per unit of weight. 

Applications in advanced gastronomy

Exotic microgreens are rapidly entering the world of high end international cuisine, both for their flavor and presentation. Their uses range from sophisticated dressings, creative plate garnishes, and aromatic toppings to functional components for bowls, fusion salads, sandwiches, and gourmet cooking.

Some delicious recipes…

Shiso red sushi bowl with marinated salmon

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sushi rice
• 150 g fresh salmon
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp honey or rice syrup
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, cubed
• Sesame seeds
• A handful of red shiso microgreens

Preparation:

1. Cook the rice and let it cool slightly.
2. Mix the soy sauce, honey, and sesame oil. Marinate the salmon for 10 minutes.
3. Assemble the bowl: rice, salmon, cucumber, avocado.
4. Finish with sesame seeds and fresh red shiso, which adds citrus and minty notes.

A fresh, elegant bowl where shiso is the star.

Fresh tatsoi salad with green apple and lime vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tatsoi microgreens
• 1 green apple, thinly sliced
• ½ red onion
• A handful of walnuts
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of ½ lime
• ½ tsp honey
• Salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Combine the tatsoi, apple, and red onion.
2. Whisk the olive oil, lime juice, honey, salt, and pepper for the vinaigrette.
3. Pour over the salad and add the walnuts.

Tatsoi brings a fresh, mild, and slightly sweet touch that pairs perfectly with the acidity of the apple and lime.

Asian stir fry with tofu, mizuna, and sesame

Ingredients:

• 200 g tofu
• 1 cup mizuna microgreens
• 1 carrot, cut into strips
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Toasted sesame seeds

Preparation:

1. Sauté the cubed tofu until golden.
2. Add the carrot and sauté for 1 more minute.
3. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil.
4. Remove from heat and mix in the fresh mizuna to preserve its crunchy texture and mild, peppery flavor.

Perfect as a light main dish or a side.

Exotic microgreens like shiso, mizuna, and tatsoi offer interesting and functional alternatives for those who seek not only to decorate their dishes but also to enhance sensory diversity and culinary creativity.

Their growing presence in modern cuisine and in trendy restaurants in the world’s most cosmopolitan cities consolidates their position as “new generation microgreens”: exotic and visually striking.

Sources

Di Gioia, F., Hong, J. C., Pisani, C., Petropoulos, S. A., Bai, J., & Rosskopf, E. N. (2023). Yield performance, mineral profile, and nitrate content in a selection of seventeen microgreen species. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14, 1220691. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1220691 — includes mizuna and shiso; does not include tatsoi; measures minerals and nitrate, not antioxidants.

Giordano, M., Ciriello, M., Formisano, L., El-Nakhel, C., Pannico, A., Graziani, G., Ritieni, A., Kyriacou, M. C., Rouphael, Y., & De Pascale, S. (2023). Iodine-biofortified microgreens as high nutraceutical value component of space mission crew diets and candidate for extraterrestrial cultivation. Plants, 12(14), 2628. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12142628 — the tatsoi source: an iodine-biofortification trial in coriander, green basil, purple basil and tatsoi that measured antioxidant activity (ABTS, FRAP, DPPH) and profiled phenolic acids and flavonoids. Iodine, applied as potassium iodide, is the only mineral involved; the study does not report a general mineral profile.

Lee, S., Yeo, H. J., Lee, S. Y., Kim, S. R., Park, S. U., & Park, C. H. (2023). The effect of light and dark treatment on the production of rosmarinic acid and biological activities in Perilla frutescens microgreens. Plants, 12(8), 1613. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12081613 — the shiso source: rosmarinic acid and laboratory antioxidant assays.

Correction note, July 2026. This page previously stated that published yield and mineral data show mizuna and tatsoi supply “essential minerals and antioxidant compounds”, citing Di Gioia (2023) and a handout hosted by Idaho State University. That was wrong on both counts: Di Gioia et al. measured minerals and nitrate only, with no antioxidant measurement, and tatsoi was not one of the seventeen species tested. The claim has been rewritten to name which source covers which crop. Four sources were dropped: aboutmicrogreens.com, a commercial blog cited for nutrition; verdeszagros.es, a shop listing cited for shiso’s antioxidant content; latorreagricola.com, a seed retailer post cited for a popularity ranking, whose link is now dead; and the Idaho State University handout, which profiles a commercial grower’s range — amaranth, broccoli, buckwheat, pea, radish and sunflower — and covers none of the three crops in this article. The popularity claim it supported has been removed rather than re-sourced. See our editorial standards.

Second correction note, 30 July 2026. The replacement citation above was itself described inaccurately. Giordano et al. (2023) was summarised here as having “measured mineral content together with total phenols and antioxidant activity”. It did not. It is an iodine-biofortification trial in which potassium iodide was the only mineral applied and iodine the only mineral measured, alongside antioxidant assays (ABTS, FRAP, DPPH) and a phenolic and flavonoid profile of coriander, green basil, purple basil and tatsoi. Tatsoi is genuinely one of the four species, so the citation stands; only our description of what it measured was wrong, and it has been corrected in the body text and in the source list. No source was dropped. See our editorial standards.

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The science on shiso, mizuna and tatsoi

Studies from our Science Library that concern shiso, mizuna and tatsoi microgreens, in plain language with links to the original research. This list updates automatically as new studies are added.

Shiso, mizuna and tatsoi in the kitchen

Recipes and kitchen ideas from our cookbook team that use shiso, mizuna and tatsoi microgreens.

Growing a different crop next? Every variety has a guide like this one in the Varieties database.

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The science behind this crop

Our research archive holds 20 peer-reviewed studies on exotic microgreens. They are free to read and download, and each one credits its original authors.

• Selenium Biofortification Impacts the Nutritive Value, Polyphenolic Content, and Bioactive Constitution of Variable Microgreens Genotypes — Antioxidants, 2020
• Nutrient Levels in Brassicaceae Microgreens Increase Under Tailored Light-Emitting Diode Spectra — Frontiers in Plant Science, 2019
• Genotype-Specific Modulatory Effects of Select Spectral Bandwidths on the Nutritive and Phytochemical Composition of Microgreens — Frontiers in Plant Science, 2019
• Continuous LED Lighting Enhances Yield and Nutritional Value of Four Genotypes of Brassicaceae Microgreens — Plants, 2022
• The Inclusion of Green Light in a Red and Blue Light Background Impact the Growth and Functional Quality of Vegetable and Flower Microgreen Species — Horticulturae, 2022
• Volatile Compounds and Total Phenolic Content of Perilla frutescens at Microgreens and Mature Stages — Horticulturae, 2022

Search the full text of the whole archive.