After procrastinating for so long, I’ve finally made sigeumchi namul 시금치나물 (Korean spinach side dish) at home. Can’t believe how easy it is! Sigemuchi 시금치 means spinach while namul 나물 means seasoned vegetable. Sigeumchi namul is a regular banchan serves in many Korean restaurants. In fact this spinach side dish is a norm in many Korean household. You will almost always find sigeumchi namul in bibimbap. They’re great in kimbap too.
Sigeumchi namul 시금치나물.
Let’s cook!
Feel free to use either regular or red spinach for this recipe. Rinse ’em to get rid of dirt and sands. This spinach I got from supermarket was tagged as red spinach. I noticed there are only couples of red pigments on the leaves. Hmm…
Heat a pot with water, filling it about 1/2 to 3/4 of the pot size. Blanch the spinach in boiling water for about 1 minute. Then strain the leaves and rinse with cold water.
Squeeze water from the spinach and then slice them 2-4 times at different location to form bite size pieces. Note: One time I squeezes them many many times. I find the final product to be a bit too dry. Lesson learned.
Loosen the blanched spinach in a large bowl. Next add garlic, spring onion, soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Mix them up and you’re ready to serve.
I have serve sigeumchi namul with rice and also quinoa.
The leftovers can be kept in the fridge for few days.
Sigeumchi Namul 시금치나물 – Korean Spinach Side Dish
Adapted from Maangchi
Serves 2
150g spinach, rinsed
1 garlic clove, minced
1 spring onion, chopped
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds (black or white), crushed
Method:
1. In a pot of boiling water (water quantity: 1/2 to 3/4 of the pot size), blanch spinach for about 1 minute.
2. Using a strainer, strain blanched spinach and then rinse in cold water to stop the cooking.
3. Squeeze out the water from the spinach. Then cut the spinach about 2-4 times to make it bite sized.
4. Transfer spinach into a large bowl and loosen the leaves with your hand. Add minced garlic, chopped spring onion, soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds. Mix well by hand.
5. Serve with rice or quinoa. Store leftovers in the fridge.
Happy namul-ing!
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