Sigeumchi-namul is a Korean side dish (banchan) made of blanched spinach seasoned with soy sauce, garlic, and toasted sesame oil. The spinach is only slightly cooked, leaving it a little crispy, but still soft and tasty. Because it’s so easy to make and so delicious, it’s a very popular and common side dish among Koreans. For many Koreans an easy, simple everyday meal consists of rice, kimchi, a stew (often doenjang-jjigae), kongnamul-muchim (a bean sprout side dish), and sigeumchi-namul.

It’s on our everyday table and also served at special occasions, family gatherings, BBQ parties—basically anywhere Koreans are gathering with food, sigeumchi-namul is there and among the most popular dishes, often paired with kongnamul-muchim, another favorite.

In this recipe you can replace spinach with bok choy or arugula or experiment with something new if you want. I had a potluck party with my readers a few years ago, and one of them brought his own sigeumchi-namul made with an ingredient I couldn’t recognize. I asked him and he told me it was tender kale! Blanched and prepared like sigeumchi-namul, it was so delicious!

I hope you enjoy this recipe and the remade HD video. Let me know if you make it. If you try your own experiments, let me know in the comments!spinach

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Boil 8 to 10 cups of water in a large pot.
  2. Blanch the spinach for 30 seconds to 1 minute with lid off, stirring with a wooden spoon.
  3. Strain the spinach and rinse in cold water a couple of times to remove any residual dirt.
  4. Squeeze out excess water and cut a few times into bite size pieces.Korean sigeumchi namul (시금치 나물: spinach side dish)
  5. Mix the spinach with garlic, green onion, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and sesame seeds in a mixing bowl by hand.Korean sigeumchi namul (시금치 나물: spinach side dish)
  6. Transfer to a bowl or plate and garnish with silgochu, if used.
  7. Serve with rice.

Spinach side dish (sigeumchi-namul)

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