Sigeumchi Namul (Korean Seasoned Spinach)
A recipe for Sigeumchi Namul (시금치나물, Seasoned Spinach) from the cookbook, Judy Joo's Korean Soul Food. Spinach is briefly blanched and seasoned with a soy sauce mixture.
Servings 4 Servings
Ingredients
- 450 grams (1 pound) mature spinach with stem and roots
- Sea salt
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon spring onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds crushed
- 1 teaspoon sagwa-shikcho Korean apple vinegar
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 garlic clove grated or finely chopped
- Black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Fill a large saucepan with water, salt well and bring to a boil. In a large bowl, prepare an ice bath.
- Rinse the spinach with cold water to remove any dirt, especially around the roots. Remove any hairs from the roots. Cut the spinach into 7 centimeter (2 3/4 inch) long pieces. Keeping the purple roots intact. Split the roots in half horizontally and keep separately.
- In a medium bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
- Blanch the spinach in two separate batches. In the boiling salt water, blanch the spinach stems with leaves until just wilted, about 1 minute, remove the spinach from the water and plunge in the ice bath. Repeat with the spinach stems with roots, but cook for 1-2 minutes before plunging into the ice bath. Remove from the ice bath, drain well and gently squeeze out any excess water.
- Gently loosen the clumbs of spinach with your fingers and transfer to a bowl. Toss well with the dressing. Cover and chill for about an hour to allow the flavours to mellow before serving.