Blanched spinach dressed with a soy sauce-sesame oil based dressing is an easy side dish that can be served cold or at room temperature. The secret is to use your hands and squeeze out as much water as you can from the blanched spinach before dressing it.
You can make this side dish up to 2 days in advance and store it in the fridge. It tastes great just by itself, but is best when accompanied with a bowl of hot rice and other main dishes. Side dishes that will also go well with this are: Korean Bean sprout salad, kimchi, and pickled daikon and carrots.
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| Squeeze out water from blanched spinach |
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| Loosen back up the clump |
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| Make the sauce |
Yields 3 side servings
Ingredients:
- 1 large bunch of fresh spinach (about 1 lb) DO NOT use baby spinach. You need spinach with stems
- 1 T soy sauce (may be adjusted to your taste)
- 2 T pure sesame oil (Kadoya brand is my favorite)
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 T sugar
- dash of pepper (optional)
Procedures:
1. Wash and blanch spinach in a pot of boiling water. Drain and place spinach in ice water to stop the cooking and maintain the spinach’s bright green color.
2. Squeeze out as much water from the spinach as possible with your hands, and transfer the spinach to a clean dry bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mix all the remaining ingredients for the dressing. Pour over the spinach and toss to mix. (Initially, use only 1 T soy sauce. Then taste for saltiness and add more soy sauce as needed.) Serve at room temperature, or if making ahead of time, can be served cold.