Japanese Sweet Soy Spinach - Gomaae Recipe

[Saviolo]

So, hubby lived for a while in San Jose, California, and was introduced to sushi down there. One of the first dishes he had at the sushi restaurant he went to was this spinach in a sweetened soy sesame sauce called gomaae, and he's loved it ever since. He's sort of synthesized his own recipe from several different methods he's found.

It's a really tasty dish, a little bit sweet, but with lots of savoury flavour from the sesame and soy sauce. We're lucky enough to have some local shops that stock the black sesame paste that we use here, but if you can't find it locally, you can certainly find it online. It's an amazing ingredient, similar in consistency to tahini, but using black sesame instead of white.

[mitch96]

1. Man this sounds neat..

I wonder if you could use any other green leafy veg? Could you use a touch of honey instead of brown sugar?
I'm getting tired of just plain old steamed bok choy greens. I was messing around with a take off on a miroux poix using bok choy bottoms instead of celery, parsnip instead of carrot and shallot/spring/green onion. Saute in a bit of EVOO and sesame oil...
?use it as a base for what ever?
I have a neat grocery store that stocks a lot of middle easter/oriental items and I picked up some black sesame seeds. I have not seen black sesame paste though. Maybe throw the black seeds in a food processor and wiz it up. Then add tahini and make grey sesame paste?
Great vid and you give me so many ideas..! Thanks..
m

[Saviolo]

2. You can absolutely use different greens.

Hubby has made this with kale and chard, and you could easily use collards, beet greens, radish greens, bok choi, and I suspect it would also be delicious over rapini. The tougher the leaf, the longer it's going to need to blanch in order to be tender.

As for the honey, that will change the flavour profile pretty significantly, but you could certainly use it. It's going to bring out some floral notes, as honey usually does, and it might make the final sauce a little thicker, but it might be amazing.

[mitch96]

3. "it might make the final sauce a little thicker, but it might be amazing."

Maybe I'll just use a bit less. I was thinking the honey would emulsify the fat and acid a bit.
m

[sagesnow]

4. Yum! Thanks for posting...

I'm going to try this soon as I can get to the Asian market.