Kicchiri Kitchen: Spinach Ohitashi

Spinach steeped in dashi

 

My friend Sayaka kindly invited me to her home and taught me this quick and easy recipe, perfect for appetizers. Ohitashi means ‘to soak in dashi stock’. Spinach ohitashi is a popular dish but you can make it with onions, asparagus and all sorts of veg. For now, let’s stick to the classic.

 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

 

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

One bunch of spinach

6g of dashi powder

1tsp usukuchi soy sauce

1 tsp koikuchi soy sauce

Salt

Optional: sprinkling of shredded katsuobushi (fish flakes) and grated yuzu peel.

 

1. Wash spinach.

2. Boil enough  water to cover the spinach  in a deep pan. Add salt.

3. Meanwhile in a bowl add 6g of dashi powder to 1/4 cup of cold water. Put 1tsp of usukuchi (saltier) soy sauce into the mix and salt to taste.

4. When the water boils, blanch the whole spinach stems for about a minute.

5. Remove and rinse under a cold tap.

6. Squeeze off excess water from spinach with hands and drizzle a tsp of koikuchi soy sauce (the regular stuff) over the spinach. Squeeze again to tightly pack the spinach.

7. Cut the spinach into 1 inch blocks and place into the dashi mix.

8. Leave to chill in the fridge for 10 minutes or as long as you like.

9. Stack the ohitashi up high in small bowls and serve. If you like you can top it with shredded katsuobushi and grated yuzu peel.

 

Hai, douzo.

Cherie Pham