This simple recipe for Korean sesame spinach doesn’t have many ingredients but does require a little bit of hand labor to squeeze out the blanched spinach. Once you do, this is a delightful way to enjoy this dark, leafy green and its succulent stems.
This dish is served for all occasions, every and any day of the year with Korean cuisine.
Also known as siguemchi namul in Korean, it is often part of a classic banchan spread of colorful side dishes like homemade kimchi, bean sprouts, gosari, and jap chae.
Serve with Korean soft tofu soup, tuna fried rice, or a quick braise of Korean sardines.
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What makes this recipe different
- It's very simple. Just 4 basic ingredients.
- No garlic or soy sauce (though those are optional variations).
- Admire the taste of fresh spinach and their delectable stems.
Ingredients
There is one key ingredient made optional from the traditional recipe. See below for why.
- Spinach - This recipe traditionally uses fresh, regular spinach.
- You get that nice contrast in texture between the soft leaf and chewy stems.
- Often packed in bunches and with visible dirt, be sure to wash first.
- Sesame Oil - So nutty and delicious, this is like the east Asian version of extra virgin olive oil, drizzled on everything.
- Buy small bottles and replenish to ensure freshness because it can go rancid if it's too old.
- Toasted Sesame Seeds - Buy these already toasted and sprinkle on everything including vegan ramen.
- Smashed fresh garlic (optional) - It's traditional to massage in a little bit of fresh raw garlic.
- I just leave it out in this case because the spinach leaves are so delicate.
- It is used in this similarly prepared dish for Korean broccoli salad.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
If you know how to make the recipe fit a certain diet, let the reader know here. Don't fake it - only provide guidance on topics you have actual experience with.
- Baby Spinach - instead of ice berg lettuce, you can use romaine lettuce or spinach
- Soy Sauce - use gluten free buns instead of white bread buns to make this gluten free
- Add Garlic - the beef hamburger can be replaced with a plant-based burger to make this vegetarian
Instructions
Aside from boiling the water, the most time consuming part of this recipe is squeezing out the spinach once it's cooked.
- Step 1: Drop spinach into a large pot of boiling water.
- Step 2: Stir to submerge all the leaves. It only takes about a minute for the stems to soften. The water does not need to return to a boil.
- Step 3: Drain and cool the spinach under cool running water. Submerge in an ice bath to help retain an extra bright green color.
- Step 4: Drain the spinach and squeeze out the excess liquid with your hands. This step is vital to drying out the spinach before seasoning.
- Step 4: Massage in the salt. This is best done with your hands.
- Step 4: Mix in the sesame oil and sesame seeds.
Hint: You could save the leftover water from the boiled spinach to cook rice, noodles, or soup, since water soluble vitamins, like vitamins B and C, leach out from vegetables when boiled.
Storage
It can take a while to squeeze out all that spinach, so you can make this ahead of time. It will keep in the fridge for about a week.
Make it better @home
- Squeezing out as much water as you can from the spinach is essential so the spinach absorbs the seasoning and doesn't taste watery.
- For more flavor, try adding a ½ teaspoon of finely minced raw garlic or substitute soy sauce for the salt.
- Make this up to 2-3 days ahead of time.
- Serve cold or at room temperature.
Top Tip
Use your hands. In Korean cuisine, there is something called 'hand taste.' Known as son-mat, it is thought that the hands impart flavor.
It also has references to family history and is a mechanism for triggering special memories and a deep sense of belonging through the act of eating.
Related Vegan Korean Recipes
Looking for other plant based Korean recipes? Try these:
Recipe
Easy Korean Spinach Side Dish with Sesame Seeds
Ingredients
- 8 oz spinach leaves with stems or about 10 cups of loosely packed leaves, see Note 1 for substitute
- ¼ teaspoon salt or ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 Tb sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Bring at least 2 qt of water to a boil in a pot large enough to hold the spinach.. (I used a 12 inch sized wok).
- While you're waiting for the water to boil, trim off the root end of the spinach, if attached, so you have individual spinach leaves with their stems. Wash and drain the leaves to remove dirt. You don't need to dry too much, since they will go back into the water to cook.
- Add the spinach to the boiling water. Stir to make sure they are submerged and cook for about 30 seconds to a minute until the stems are tender but not overcoooked and mushy. The water does not need to return to a boil.
- Remove the spinach from the hot water. Rinse under cold running water or dip into an ice bath to stop the spinach from continuing to cook.
- Take handfuls of the drained spinach and squeeze out excess water. It should be dry with no dripping water.
- Put the dry spinach into a bowl. Massage in salt to season the leaves. Then mix in sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt or soy sauce as needed.
- Serve at room temperature or cold from the fridge.
Notes
- Substitute with baby spinach. For cooking in boiling water, the leaves just need to be dipped in to wilt and quickly removed. They should not sit in the hot water for too long or they'll overcook.
- Squeezing out as much water as you can from the spinach is essential so the spinach absorbs the seasoning and doesn't taste watery.
- Garlic variation - Add ¼ teaspoon of finely minced garlic.
- Soy sauce variation - Substitute soy sauce for the salt.
- Make this up to 2-3 days ahead of time. Store in the fridge.
Nutrition
Fortune Cookie 🥠
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