horenso gomaae
Blanched spinach dressed in a savory nutty sesame sauce, this Japanese Spinach Salad with Sesame Dressing (Spinach Gomaae) is a healthy veggie side dish that goes well with everything.
To Store:
You can keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or freezer for 2-4 weeks.
Recipe Notes:
Spinach: American spinach is very soft and we can eat it raw unlike Japanese spinach; therefore, cooking for 30-45 seconds is enough.
ingredients
½ lb spinach (227 g)
pinch kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; Use half for table salt)
for the sesame sauce
3 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds (25 g)
1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce (reduce to 1 Tbsp if you skip sake and mirin)
1 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp sake (skip if serving this dish for children)
½ tsp mirin (skip if serving this dish for children)
steps
For the sesame sauce, put sesame seeds in a frying pan and toast them on low heat. When 2-3 sesame seeds start to pop from the pan, remove from the heat.
Grind the toasted sesame seeds with a mortar and pestle. Leave some sesame seeds unground for some texture.
Add 1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp sugar, ½ tsp sake, ½ tsp mirin to the ground sesame seeds and mix all together.
Put lightly salted water in a large pot and bring to boil. Once boiling, add the spinach from the stem side (takes longer to cook) and cook for 30-45 seconds.
Remove the spinach from the water and soak in iced water to stop cooking with remaining heat. Alternatively, drain and run the spinach under cold running water until cool. Collect the spinach and squeeze water out.
Cut the spinach into 1-2” (2.5-5 cm) lengths and put in a medium bowl.
Add the sesame sauce and toss it all together. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
