Japanese · side

Horenso no Goma-ae (Spinach Dressed in Ground Sesame)

Horenso no Goma-ae (Spinach Dressed in Ground Sesame) reads umami 6.1, salinity 5.9 and sweetness 5.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Japanese side, about 12 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.1 · Salinity 5.9 · Sweetness 5.5 · Funk & Ferment 3.4 · Nutty 2.6 · Herbaceous 2.5 · Richness 2.3 · Bitterness 1.9 · Earthy 1.2 · Sourness 0.9 · Citrus 0.6

What's in it (9)

Time & effort: about 12 min (9 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 9.9 kcal, 0.5 g protein, 0.6 g fat, 1 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (5 steps)

  1. Bring the water to a rolling boil and add the salt. Holding the spinach by the leaves, dip the stems in first for 15 seconds, then lay the whole bunch down and blanch 30 to 45 seconds, until the leaves collapse but the green deepens rather than dulls.
  2. Lift the spinach straight into the iced water. Once cold, gather it into a bundle with the stems all pointing one way, squeeze firmly, then roll it in a bamboo mat or a tea towel and squeeze again. Aemono fails when the greens are wet: the dressing slides off into a puddle. Cut the bundle across into 4 cm lengths.
  3. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, shaking constantly, until they are one shade darker, jump in the pan and give off a smell like warm bread. Tip them out at once; the residual heat of the pan will burn them.
  4. Grind the seeds in a suribachi, or in a mortar, for a good minute. Stop while roughly half the seeds are still recognisable as seeds. Ground to a smooth paste it becomes sesame butter and coats the spinach in a heavy slick; left half-broken it stays gritty and clings.
  5. Stir the soy sauce, mirin, sugar and dashi into the ground sesame until it has the consistency of loose porridge. Add the spinach and toss with your fingers or with cooking chopsticks until every strand is coated, and serve within the hour, at room temperature, in a small mound in a deep bowl.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.