The BEST Spinach Goma ae (Japanese Spinach with Sesame)
Spinach Goma-ae is a cold Japanese spinach salad with sesame dressing. It's super easy to make, and SO delicious. Even picky kids will gobble up their spinach this way. Served cold, it also packs well for bento.
Equipment
- Mortar and pestle Japanese suribachi recommended
Ingredients
- 10 oz baby spinach
- 2 tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp miso
- 2 tsp Japanese soy sauce
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil.
- Blanch spinach for 1 minute.
- Drain spinach and rinse under cold water. Set aside while you prepare the goma ae.
- In a mortar and pestle, grind the white sesame seeds until they resemble coarse sand (it doesn't need to be a paste).
- Add sugar, miso, and soy sauce to the sesame seeds and mix to combine.
- Squeeze out the excess water from the cooled spinach (don't burn yourself!).
- Mix spinach and goma ae together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
-I use red miso, but feel free to substitute white.
-You can use regular spinach instead of baby spinach, but if you do, you will probably want to chop your spinach prior to mixing with the dressing.
-Because it's served cold, you can easily make this dish a day in advance or as a meal prep for packed lunches.
-I wrote the serving size as enough for 4 people as a small side dish.