Japanese Spinach Salad

When I lived in Brooklyn as a graduate student, I had a favorite Japanese restaurant that I would go to after a particularly grueling day. Slipping into a seat at the sushi bar, the first thing I would order is “gomae,” a Japanese spinach salad with sesame paste.

Japanese spinach salad

Japanese spinach salad

Andy and I would mull over the dressing on the salad with each bite, but alas, before we had arrived at a conclusion, it would be gone, fleeting and delicious.

When I moved to Vermont, I had to recreate that wonderful spinach salad, which I learned was made with sesame paste, sugar, and a little splash of sake. Packed with vitamins, it would start to perk me right up, along with a cup of green tea or hot sake. Those tender greens, blanched quickly, are such a gift. Even better to be able to make this salad with local spinach!            

Japanese Spinach Salad (Gomae)

1 pound spinach
1/4 cup white sesame seeds
2 Tbs. sake*
1 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. soy sauce 

Wash and blanch spinach. Drain the water very well (you can press it out with your hands). Cut spinach into 2 inch lengths. Put sesame seeds in a blender and grind them. Add sugar, soy sauce, and sake and mix well. Put spinach in serving bowl and mix in the dressing. Sprinkle any extra sesame seeds on top. Makes 4 servings

*Sake is a Japanese rice wine available in our Beer & Wine department. I used Sho Chiku Bai Nama Sake, a sake produced with organic rice in California.
Spring