Horenso No Goma-Ae
Submitted by hpfoss
Horenso no goma-ae is a Japanese spinach side dish dressed in a paste of toasted sesame seeds, sake, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Classic side served at room temperature with rice and miso.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
8 minREADY
23 minHorenso no goma-ae is the deeply traditional Japanese spinach side that shows up alongside rice, miso soup, and grilled fish in family meals across Japan. The magic is in the goma (sesame) dressing: toasted sesame seeds crushed to a coarse paste, then loosened with sake, soy sauce, sugar, and rice vinegar.
A suribachi (Japanese ridged ceramic mortar) is the traditional tool for crushing the seeds, and it produces a more textured paste than a food processor. The recipe acknowledges this and notes that you’ll need to double the sesame seeds if using a processor, since the paste comes out finer and more dispersed.
Igniting the sake to cook off the alcohol is a small but important step. Raw alcohol notes interfere with the delicate sesame and soy flavors. Light it carefully (or just simmer 30 seconds with the alcohol burning off naturally if you’re not into open-flame kitchen drama) until the flame goes out.
Pro Tips
- Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden and fragrant. Untoasted seeds taste flat and dusty.
- Wash the spinach tied in a bundle so it stays oriented during blanching. The directions are specific about this for a reason: it makes squeezing and slicing far easier.
- Don’t overcook the spinach. Just barely wilted is the goal. Overcooked spinach turns gray and loses its sweet vegetal flavor.
- Squeeze the cooked spinach hard to remove water. Wet spinach dilutes the dressing.
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
This spinach dish is standard fare for a Japanese meal.
This dressing may also be used with a variety of other green vegetables, so don’t hesitate to experiment.
In a small saucepan, heat and ignite the sake to cook off the alcohol.
Toast the sesame seeds in a ungreased skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.
Stir occasionally. Put the seeds into a suribachi (Japanese mortar) and crush into a paste.
(This can be ground in a food processor, however you will have to use at least twice the amount of sesame seeds.)
Add the sake, sugar, soy sauce and rice vinegar and blend thoroughly.
Remove from the suribachi and set aside while preparing the spinach.
In a large, tied bundle, wash and rinse the spinach in cold water.
Drain thoroughly.
In a wide saucepan, bring about 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil.
Cook the spinach until the leaves are barely wilted.
Remove spinach and refresh with cold water. Squeeze dry of excess water.
Keep the spinach in a bundle and cut off and discard the large stems.
Cut the spinach into 1-inch pieces. Add the sesame dressing to the spinach and mix gently.
Divide the spinach between 4 bowls and serve at room temperature or chilled.
Garnish with extra sesame seeds.
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