← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 120 ml Water
• 1 piece kombu (about 5 x 5 cm)
• 1 tbsp Mirin
• 1 tbsp light (usukuchi) soy sauce
• 250 g bunched spinach, roots trimmed
• 1 tsp salt, for the cooking water
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 pinch Bonito flakes (optional)

Method

1. Bring the water, kombu and mirin just to the boil in a small pan, then turn off the heat, stir in the soy sauce and leave to cool. Remove the kombu.
2. Wash the spinach well, especially around the stems. Bring a big pan of water to the boil and add the salt.
3. Hold the spinach by its leaves and lower the stems into the water for 10 seconds, then drop in the whole bunch and cook for 30 seconds more, until just wilted and bright green.
4. Plunge the spinach into iced water to stop the cooking, then line up the stems and squeeze out as much water as you can.
5. Cut into 4 cm lengths, lay them in a shallow dish and pour over the cooled broth. Leave to soak for at least 30 min.
6. Squeeze lightly, stand the bundles upright in small bowls, spoon over a little broth and top with sesame seeds and bonito flakes.

Tips

• Bonito flakes are traditional but not vegetarian; leave them off for vegan.
• Use tamari to make it gluten-free. It keeps for 2 days in the fridge.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Japanese Cooking 101