Japanese-Style Spinach with Toasted Sesame Seeds Recipe
 This Japanese specialty, known as O-hitashi,
has been served as a side dish on dining tables in Japan for centuries.
Seasonal green vegetables are simply blanched and cooled and formed into
little towers. With a little help from soy sauce and sesame seeds, they
reveal their true flavor. Serve the spinach towers with simply cooked
chicken or fish, such as salmon or tune and it'll make a great meal for
the whole family.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
0.5 kg/1 lb fresh young spinach
2 tablespoons shoyu
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Salt, to taste
Methods:
1.
Blanch the spinach leaves in lightly salted boiling water for 15 seconds.
For Japanese-type spinach, hold the leafy part and slip the stems into the
pan. After 15 seconds, drop in the leaves and cook for 20 seconds.
2. Drain
immediately and place the spinach under running water. Squeeze out all the
excess water by hand. Now what looked like a large amount of spinach has
become a ball, about the size of an orange. Mix the shoyu and water, then
pour onto the spinach. Mix well and let cool.
3.
Meanwhile, put the sesame seeds in a dry skillet and stir or toss until
they start to pop. Remove from the heat and let cool.
4. Drain
the spinach and squeeze out the excess sauce with your hands. Form the
spinach into a log shape of about 1.5 inches in diameter on a cutting
board. Squeeze again to make it form. With a sharp knife, cut it across
into four cylinders.
5. Place
the spinach cylinders on a large plate or individual dishes. Sprinkle with
the toasted sesame seeds and a little salt and serve.
Note: Japanese spinach, the long-leaf
type with the stalks and pink root intact, is best, but you can also use
ordinary young spinach leaves, or any soft and deep-colored salad greens -
such as watercress, arugula, or corn salad.
Happy Cooking,
Carol |
