GOMAE (JAPANESE SPINACH SALAD)

Gomae (or Gomaae) is one of those dishes that my family likes to order when eating at Japanese restaurants. Gomae is a Japanese style spinach salad that is dressed with a sesame dressing. There is this one all-you-can-eat restaurant we used to go to a lot and we would order and consume many servings of this dish. The dish is good enough for us to order multiple times and healthy enough for us to consume guilt-free! So, I decided that I would attempt to re-create this great dish

Surprisingly, this dish is quite easy to make. After boiling the spinach and cutting it into portions, the spinach is added to a delicious dressing made from crushed toasted sesame seeds, mirin, sake and sugar. I was surprised at how similar the taste was to the one we would order at Japanese restaurant. I was quite pleased and there were no left-overs as it was consumed almost immediately. What I like about this dish is that it’s so healthy, vegetarian and easy to make. It’s also very tasty and different from the typical salads we eat. I will definitely be making this over and over again!

Ingredients

·         1 bag of ready-to-eat spinach (approx. 200 g)

·         salt to taste

Sesame Dressing

·         1/2 tsp of sake can substitute with 1/2 tsp of cooking sherry

·         1/2 tsp of mirin can substitute with 1/2 tsp of cooking sherry

·         3 tbsp roasted white sesame seeds

·         1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

·         1 tbsp white sugar

Special Equipment

·         Mortar and Pestle or food processor

Instructions

1.    Heat a skillet to low heat. Toast the sesame seeds by placing them into the skillet. When a few of the sesame seeds begin to pop, remove from the heat.

2.    Grind the sesame seeds using a mortar and pestle. If you don't have access to a motor and pestle, you can grind them in a food processor.

3.    In a small bowl, combine the sesame seeds, soy sauce, sugar, sake and mirin. Mix well.

4.    Bring a large pot of water to a boil add a pinch of salt.

5.    Add spinach to boiling water and cook for one minute. Drain and soak with cold water until cooled.

6.    Drain the spinach and make sure to remove as much water as possible. Collect the spinach and cut into 4 pieces (see picture above).

7.    Toss the spinach in the sesame dressing.

8.    Serve and enjoy!

Source; click