our dinner last night – a few, very typical, japanese dishes:
– アジの干物 “aji no himono“, grilled horse mackerel (seasoned & dried)
– かぼちゃと鶏挽肉の煮物 “kabocha to tori-hikiniku no nimono“, simmered pumpkin and minsed chicken
– ほうれん草のごま和え “hourenso no goma-ae“, boiled spinach in sesame sauce
– 冷や奴 “hiyayakko“, fresh tofu with seasoning (spring onion, ground ginger, bonito fish flakes and soy sauce)
– わかめご飯 ”wakame gohan“, salty wakame seaweed mixed in freshly cooked rice
– 葱のみそ汁 “negi no miso-shiru“, spring onion miso soup
today, out of these dishes, i would like to share a recipe for “hourenso no goma-ae“, boiled spinach in japanese sesame sauce. it is a nutritious, healthy, totally vegan side dish. the iron taste of spinach matches perfectly with the mild yet strong flavour of sesame, which is nicely combined with the soy sauce.
for short, let’s call it “spinach goma-ae”
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“spinach goma-ae”
1 batch of fresh spinach
3+ table spoons of ground sesame seeds (i always grind them right before i use – nice & fresh!)
1 table spoon of brown sugar
1 table spoon of soy sauce
1, in a big & deep cooking pan, bring water (to 3/4 to the top) to boil, and add the spinach. boil it until the water just turns to light green (2 minutes or so)
2. take out the spinach, rinse it in cold water until it is nice and cool
3. gently squeeze the water out of the spinach by hands
4. cut the spinach into 4 – 5cm length
5. make the sauce: mix the ingredients above (sesame, sugar and soy sauce)
6. add the spinach into the sauce and mix it thoroughly
that’s it – so easy and tasty.
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not to mention, my stomach was fully satisfied at the end of the meal. there is no place, like home.
SMALL TOKYO KITCHEN 