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!
Gomae (Japanese Spinach Salad)
Equipment
- Mortar and Pestle or food processor
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
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- In a small bowl, combine the sesame seeds, soy sauce, sugar, sake and mirin. Mix well.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil add a pinch of salt.
- Add spinach to boiling water and cook for one minute. Drain and soak with cold water until cooled.
- Drain the spinach and make sure to remove as much water as possible. Collect the spinach and cut into 4 pieces (see picture above).
- Toss the spinach in the sesame dressing.
Notes
Nutrition
My spice grinder (coffee grinder) worked well to pulverize the toasted sesame seeds! Great flavor, I used 1 tsp of mirin because I didn’t have sherry or sake.
I love this recipe, easy and tastes fantastic!
My Japanese mom made this exactly the same way! And we LOVED it as kids! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Erin!
How long will the sesame dressing keep if made in advance?
Hi Pat,
You can make the dressing one week in advance.
Delish and my Japanese husband says better than his Mom made😉
Hi Dazu,
That’s great! Thanks for writing 🙂
I would like to make your lovely dish for an Asian inspired evening I’m doing for a friend tomorrow. Would this dish keep if made today or should it be made fresh? (I ask because I’m making around 10 different dishes!) Thank you!
Hi Jade, It should be okay to make the day before. I would recommend keeping the spinach and dressing separate until it’s ready to serve. I hope that helps!
Thank you so much for your speedy reply! I love all things spinach and the dressing is lovely!
This food is korean food.
Add to sesame oil.
Fantastic salad, was also searching for that restaurant taste and was not disappointed. I set aside some whole sesame seeds as garnish. I didn’t have any mirin, sake, or sherry on hand so I used rice vinegar instead, and it was still delicious.
most recipes use soy sauce – would this be in place of the sake? would it mean light or dark soy?
Hi Marie,
Just omit the sake if you don’t have access to it.
Can you tell me if there is a difference in making with raw sesame seeds?
Hi Hara,
Using raw sesame seeds won’t give you that toasty aroma and flavor.
I tried your recipe and it tastes good. Thanks a lot for sharing
You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked it.
Wow ! I was looking for a very different salad with unusual taste.
So I’m definitely going to try your dish ! It looks so good !
Thank you for this amazing recipe! 🙂
Thanks so much Drea!