How to Make Spinach Ohitashi Salad (Classic Japanese Side Dish) | Sudachi

Looking for a simple, tasty and nutritious vegetable side dish that is easy to prepare in advance? Then this Japanese Ohitashi might be exactly what you're looking for. You can also find this recipe on my website along with over 400 Japanese recipes, just google Ohitashi space stachi to find the written recipe. Here I have 200g of oriental spinach which is the most commonly used vegetable for this dish. Wash it in cold water, paying attention to the roots which often have sands or dirts lodged in the crevices. If you can't get oriental spinach, either leafy greens like bok choy or even napa cabbage work well too and you can use the exact same method. Once it's washed, place it in a fresh bowl of water and soak it for 10 minutes. In the meantime, we're going to make the marinade. Take a small saucepan and add 240ml of dashi stock, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of mirin. Bring it to a boil and let it bubble for about 2 minutes to burn off some of the alcohol in the mirin. As always, all the ingredients and exact measurements for this recipe can be found in the description box below. This first style of sauce is called hapoji. I'm using a fish based dashi so this wouldn't be suitable for vegetarians or vegans but you can of course make it with plant based dashi if you prefer. After 2 minutes of boiling, take it off the heat and set aside to cool. Next, boil 2 litres of water in a separate pot and add 1 tablespoon of salt. The salt should be 1% of the weight of the water so adjust as necessary. Place the spinach in a pot with the roots submerged but the leaves sticking out. Boil the roots for 30 seconds. The stems at the bottom are thicker and need a little more cooking than the leaves. After 30 seconds, push the leaves down and blanch them for 15 seconds. It's important not to let the leaves boil for too long otherwise they'll become mushy and discoloured. If you're using a different vegetable you might need to boil it a little longer depending on the thickness. Transfer the blanched spinach to a bowl of ice water. This will shock it, stop it from overcooking and preserve its texture and colour. We're going to leave it to soak in the ice water for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes have passed, prepare a bamboo sushi mat. We're going to use this to remove the water thoroughly. Gently squeeze the spinach and place it on the mat following the direction of the bamboo. Roll up the mat and squeeze it over the bowl. This will remove the majority of the water without damaging it. Unroll the mat and drizzle the spinach with the sauce. This will remove any remaining water. Then you can roll it up and squeeze it once more. This process of removing the water will prevent the sauce from becoming diluted and ensure the spinach absorbs maximum flavour. Finally, we're going to cut the spinach in half and place in a sealable container. If your container is big enough, you don't need to cut it in half though. Pour the sauce over the top. I recommend placing a piece of plastic wrap on the surface so that it's touching the top of the spinach. This will ensure more even coverage, especially if it's not completely submerged. Place a lid on top and marinate it in the fridge for at least an hour. If you have time, it will taste even better if you wait and leave it overnight. Okay, this has finished marinating, so I'm going to remove the roots and cut it into bite-sized pieces. You can place leftovers back in the sauce and leave it in the fridge. It will be good for 2-3 days depending on the weather and climate. Place it in a small dish with a drizzle of sauce and sprinkle of bonito flakes. For a plant-based version, you can omit the bonito flakes or even substitute sesame seeds instead. And that's it! I know it's simple, but spinach ohitashi is really delicious and the perfect side dish for any Japanese meal. Want even more delicious recipes? Grab my free cookbook from the link in the description. Okay, let's go over the ingredients one more time. And if you're ready to cook, grab the written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up on your screen. Here we go, the link to the full recipe is on the screen now, and if you want to watch more similar videos, don't miss my salad playlist popping up on your screen as well. Thanks so much for watching, and I hope to see you in the next one. Bye!