Korean Style Spinach salad

This simple, healthy, and tasty spinach dish can be eaten either hot or cold.  It works well as a side in many Asian cuisines, such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.  It is a versatile dish, and can easily be tailored for any of these cuisines by the addition of certain ingredients.

1) First, cook the spinach.  You can either blanch it very quickly or steam it very quickly.

 

You want to make sure that you cook it quickly!  I typically steam for about 10-15 seconds (until the leaves wilt) and then I remove the leaves and quickly rinse with cold water to stop further cooking.  I do this in small batches.

 

You don't want to overcook the spinach because it loses its bright green color and becomes overly mushy.

If you blanch, I would only blanch for 5 seconds.

2) Next, try to squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible.  I typically take a handful of spinach at a time and squeeze it into a ball, as shown in the picture below.

3) Once most of the water has been squeezed out, I chop up the spinach using a pair scissors. 

4) Finally, add salt, sesame oil, and garlic powder (or minced fresh garlic) to taste.  Optionally, you can add soy sauce, sesame seeds, hot pepper flakes, or other cuisine-specific spices.

Serve warm or cold.  Enjoy!