Japanese Spinach with Sesame Seeds
Japanese spinach with sesame seeds is inspired by a recipe in Japanese Country Cookbook, a long out-of-print book from the revered Mingei-Ya restaurant in San Francisco. Unlike most recipes for spinach salad, this doesn’t include sugar. You won’t miss it. Makes 3-4 servings.
Ingredients:
1 lb fresh spinach, thoroughly washed
1 T toasted sesame oil
1 T soy sauce
1 t toasted sesame seeds*
Method: bring four quarts water to boil in a large pot. Dump in the spinach and then start dipping it out as soon as it starts to wilt using a slotted spoon or strainer. Drain in a colander inside a large bowl. When spinach is cool enough to handle, thoroughly wring out water using a paper towel or clean dishtowel. Shape the spinach as you go, so you end up with a compact product like an oblong football.
Cut the spinach crosswise into four or more servings (chunks) then reassemble the football on a serving plate. Make a lengthwise indentation with the back of a knife or your hand and drizzle on sesame oil, which will penetrate into the indentation and the cuts you have made. Repeat with the soy sauce then sprinkle garnish of toasted sesame seeds. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature.
*Toast sesame seeds by rolling them back and forth in a nonstick pan at medium heat. They are ready when they are slightly browned and fragrant, 3-5 minutes. If you use sesame seed garnish frequently, you might want to consider a pre-toasted version which is available at Asian markets or on Amazon.
I prepare spinach similar to this except I merely stir fry the spinach. I use the toasted sesame oil but instead of sesame seeds I garlic in the stir fry. I sometimes add a finely sliced fresh ginger too. Thanks for the reminder. Have you prepared New Zealand Spinach? I used to grow the stuff. I never see it in the market. Delicious, easy to grow, easy to prepare . . . the leaves are not smooth, they are fuzzy.
I would love to try that New Zealand spinach… where did you get the seeds? Re stir fry, that’s going to be tasty but a very different result. Do try it this way if you love spinach.
New Zealand Spinach is not true spinach but it tastes just like spinach and has many excellent nutrients. I used to grow the stuff in my yard. Recently I know someone in Laguna Beach who grows it in his yard. I have never seen this for sale in a market. Seeds are easy to purchase on the Internet. This is a hardy plant that grows quickly. I just pinched off as much as I wanted to cook and the next time I went to harvest there was more than the first time. It replaces itself quickly. You can plant a patch say four feet by four feet and eat from it all summer long. I always stir fried the New Zealand Spinach. The first time I grew them in the 1970’s I purchased the seeds from a local nursery in West Los Angeles.
Ok, according to Johnny’s Seeds New England Spinach is not spinach at all but a perennial that tastes like spinach, hence your ability to harvest leaves all summer long. Interesting. Why don’t you grow some in your Centennial Farm and sell the seeds as a fundraiser?
I got hundreds of seeds from my planting. As you noticed we have many different crops growing at the Centennial Farm. I suspect we have at any time at least one hundred different types of fruit and vegetables. One section is called the rare fruit growers aisle, we have many rare items including cherimoya and star fruit. After several years of making a suggestion I finally got them to plant bitter melon; it was a hit. I never thought about New Zealand Spinach until today when I commented on your spinach recipe. The crops grown on the Centennial Farm have three uses. Some are given to a food bank. Some are placed in a bin for people to take home and leave a donation if they choose. Some are eaten by the volunteers and people who work at the farm. During the OC Fair we have a vegetable stand and sell produce to Fair visitors at a fair fare. We have not sold seeds before, just fresh produce ready to cook or eat.
I would certainly buy seeds from your farm. It would be a fine fundraiser and good work for a volunteer to package them for mail order.