OHITASHI

OHITASHI

#SIAintheKitchen

Sometimes simple is best.

I was looking for a way to use up an extra bunch of spinach that was sitting in my fridge before it was going to wilt up and it wouldn’t be acceptable to use in any dish. I was making a Japanese-inspired meal and I immediately thought of gomae. I’ve done gomae so many times before in the past and I really didn’t feel like grinding up any sesame seeds - just wasn’t in the mood. I had to go even simpler…so I discovered ohitashi.

Ohitashi is a Japanese technique of blanching vegetables and bathed in a umami-laden sauce. From what I’ve seen and read out there, it’s mainly green leafy vegetables used in this dish; primarily spinach. The sauce that goes over top of it is almost broth-y and very similar to metsuyu - smoky dashi, soy and mirin. It’s very reminiscent of the dipping sauce found in zarusoba. Yum.

The recipe takes no more than 5 minutes - no, really! Blanching the spinach in boiling water and shocking in an ice bath is rather quick. The sauce is prepared by merely combining the ingredients - it’s that simple! I might sound like an infomercial but it’s really hard to fuck this one up.

Easy peasy - goes great with any Japanese dish - and super healthy too!

OHITASHI - serves 4 (adapted from Just One Cookbook)

• 1 bunch spinach, washed thoroughly, left whole

• 1 cup dashi

• 1/8 cup soy sauce

• 1 tbsp. granulated sugar

1. Blanch the spinach in boiling, salted water for 10 seconds. Blanch the spinach into an ice bath. Drain, squeeze out any excess water and chop the spinach bunch into 2” pieces.

2. Heat the dashi, soy sauce and sugar over medium-high heat and remove from heat once the sugar is dissolved.

3. Portion the spinach off into 4 small serving dishes and pour the prepared sauce over top of it.