Your email address is required to begin the subscription process. We will use it for customer service and other communications from Milk Street. You can unsubscribe from receiving our emails at any time.

Sesame-Soy Spinach
The Korean name for this dish is sigeumchi namul. It’s a classic banchan (side dish); sigeumchi means spinach and namul is a category of cooked and seasoned vegetable dishes. The spinach is blanched, drained and rinsed under cold water to stop the cooking before it is tossed with a flavorful dressing made with toasted and ground sesame seeds. Like most other namul, the spinach is best served at room temperature or slightly chilled.
4
Servings
Don’t use baby spinach, which is too delicate. Mature spinach sold in bunches is the type to us. Be sure to wash and drain the spinach to remove any sand or grit, but there’s no need to dry it since it will be blanched.
25 minutes
Ingredients
-
2½
tablespoons sesame seeds
-
2
tablespoons soy sauce, plus more if needed
Directions
-
01In a large pot over medium-high, bring 6 quarts water to a boil. Meanwhile, in an 8-inch skillet over medium, toast the sesame seeds, stirring often, until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Cool completely. In an electric spice grinder or in a mortar with a pestle, coarsely grind 2 tablespoons of the seeds; reserve the remainder for garnish. Transfer the ground seeds to a medium bowl, then stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil and garlic; set aside.
Pardon the interruption
You need to be a Milk Street Digital Member to see the full recipe
JOIN MILK STREET DIGITAL & PRINT
12 WEEKS FOR JUST $1
and get access to all of our recipes and articles online, as well as in print.
GET DIGITAL & PRINT
Might I recommend sprinkling a bit of gochugaru on top? So good.