Korean Spinach Side Dish (Shigeumchi Namul)
How to make Korean Spinach Side Dish (Shigeumchi Namul) with just a few ingredients. Delicious and healthy! Gluten free and Vegan too.
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- 3 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 8 oz spinach (Korean flat-leaf preferred but American savoy also works)
- 1/2 tsp Korean sea salt (fine - sub a little more than 1/2 tsp of Kosher salt)
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1-2 green onions (chopped)
- For blanching - 6 cups water + 1 Tbs Korean sea salt
Instructions
- 1
If it's flat-leafed Korean spinach that comes with the roots, cut the root ends off.
- 2
Rinse spinach leaves in the water a couple of times and drain to clean off any dirt.
- 3
Boil a pot of water with salt added. 1 Tbs sea salt or kosher salt to 6 cups of water.
- 4
Chop green onions.
- 5
Have a bowl of ice bath ready next to your pot of boiling water or in the sink.
- 6
Add spinach to boiling water and blanch for 1 min or so. A little more or less depending on how big your spinach stems are. Using a tong, gently turn the spinach so they are evenly cooked. Test doneness by bending the thickest part of the spinach stems. If they bend easily but with a little resistance and it's been about 1 min, then you need to stop cooking.
- 7
Turn heat off, and quickly transfer the blanched spinach into the ice bath.
- 8
Once the spinach is fully cooled, take a handful out of the water and make a ball between your hands, gently squeezing excess water out. Squeeze and press gently until no water drips from them. Take care to not bruise it too much since cooked spinach is quite tender.
- 9
In a mixing bowl, add the spinach then loosen them and separate the leaves so they will be evenly seasoned.
- 10
Season spinach with salt, sesame oil, chopped green onions and sesame seeds. Mix them well with your hands. Taste and see if you need to add more salt.