Name: Japanese Sesame Spinach Ohitashi
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 400 g fresh spinach; 4 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 tablespoon mirin, or a little extra sugar and water; 1 teaspoon cold-pressed sesame oil; 1 teaspoon salt, for the blanching water; 1 a bowl of ice water, for shocking; 1 a mortar and pestle, for grinding

Before you cook

The whole dish hinges on squeezing the spinach properly dry after blanching. Wet spinach dilutes the sauce and the dish turns watery on the plate.

Blanch briefly and shock immediately in ice water. That stops the cooking and is what keeps the green colour vivid rather than dull.

Method

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and salt it.
Prepare a bowl of ice water alongside the stove before you start.
Blanch the spinach for exactly thirty seconds, no longer.
Lift it straight into the ice water to stop the cooking sharply.
Once fully cold, squeeze the spinach hard in your fists to remove water.
Squeeze again from a different angle, because a first pass never gets it all.
Grind most of the sesame seeds to a coarse, oily paste in a mortar.
Mix in the soy sauce, sugar, mirin and sesame oil until smooth.
Cut the squeezed spinach into short lengths and toss with the sauce.
Scatter the remaining whole seeds over the top and serve at room temperature.

Comments

Loading comments…