Tender spinach salad seasoned with a delicious garlicky sesame soy sauce. A quick and easy Korean spinach side dish that requires minimal ingredients and 10 minutes of time! A healthy side to any meal and great for meal prep.
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Korean Spinach Side Dish (aka "Siguemchi Namul" in Korean) features cooked and chilled spinach seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic and sugar.
'Sigeumchi' means 'spinach' and 'namul' in Korean translation and it refers to 'seasoned vegetables or leaves'. It's served at many Korean restaurants as a wonderful side dish.
It's also served in traditional bibimbap and kimbap and enjoyed cold or at room temperature. I love to enjoy mine with hot rice and other banchans (Korean side dishes) for added fiber!
This seasoned vegetable dish is a great way to prepare veggies for lunch, dinner, meal prep as you can store it in the fridge for 3-4 days and enjoy in small portions.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Fresh spinach: either Western spinach or Chinese spinach as we want mature spinach with thick stems and large thicker leaves. Baby spinach will work but because it's missing longer stems and has thinner leaves, you won't get as much yield.
- Salt: to season the cooking water
Sauce
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Toasted sesame oil: for that nutty flavor!
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Garlic
- White Granulated Sugar: to balance out the salty flavors or substitute with honey.
Optional add-ins
- Gochugaru: add about 1 teaspoon of Korean red chili flakes
- Green onions: garnishing
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Blanch spinach for only for 30 seconds. Since spinach is a very thin leaf, this will only take 30 seconds for it to cooked and retain its nutrients. Don’t overcook it or the spinach leaves will disintegrate easily.
- Stop cooking process with cold water. Use very cold water to rinse your spinach after straining it. This helps to stop the cooking process.
- Squeeze spinach with hands to remove excess water. Using clean hands are the easiest way to squeeze out any excess water.
- Mix sauce before adding to spinach. Before adding your sauce ingredients to the spinach, you can mix them in a bowl to evenly distribute the ingredients.
- Mixing the sauce into the spinach with clean hands is also the easiest way to ensure even taste.
Instructions
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
Prepare Spinach
Chop your spinach into 2-inch-long pieces trimming off the roots or ends.
In a large bowl, wash your spinach at least 4-5 times in cold running water to remove a lot of dirt. The water should run green but clear. Strain the water.
Blanch and Cool Spinach
In a large pot filled with water, add salt, and bring to a boil. Blanch spinach in hot boiling water for no more than 20-30 seconds.
Quickly strain the cooked spinach and rinse with cold water until it's cold to touch.
Strain Spinach and Make Sauce
Drain the cold water. With clean hands, take a handful of spinach into a ball and squeeze out as much water as possible. Transfer spinach to a mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine sauce ingredients until well combined.
Mix Sauce with Spinach
Then pour the sauce over spinach.
Mix spinach with sauce with clean hands or tongs. Serve and enjoy at room temperature or chilled.
Storage
- This will last up to 3-4 days stored in an airtight container in the fridge. There's no need to reheat it as it can be enjoyed cold or at room temperature.
- Freezer-friendly? I wouldn't recommend freezing this as the spinach will become mushy.
Pairing Suggestions
Korean spinach side dish serves well with white rice, brown rice or cauliflower rice and any of these Korean side dishes below:
FAQ
Yes, the sauce will work with any leafy greens, like bok choy, yu choy sum, or napa cabbage.
Yes, Korean spinach can be made 1 day in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Note: over time the spinach will become saltier so this is best consumed sooner than later.
If your spinach is breaking apart, it means that it was blanched for too long or over 30 seconds.
📖 Recipe
Easy 10-min. Korean Spinach Side Dish (Sigeumchi Namul)
Ingredients
- 17 oz spinach (about 2 large bunches)
- 1 teaspoon salt for blanching
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce feel free to add ½ tablespoon more if you like it saltier
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar
Instructions
- Chop your spinach into 2-inch-long pieces. Removing the roots but keeping the stems.
- In a large bowl, wash your spinach at least 4-5 times in cold running water to remove a lot of dirt. The water should run green but clear at the bottom of the bowl. Strain the water.
- In a large pot filled with water, add salt, and bring to a boil. Blanch spinach for no more than 20-30 seconds.
- Quickly strain the spinach and rinse with cold running water until the spinach is cold to touch. Alternatively, you may transfer spinach to an ice bath.
- Drain the cold water. With clean hands, gather the spinach into a ball and squeeze out as much water as possible. Transfer spinach to a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine sauce ingredients until combined.
- Pour sauce over spinach and mix with clean hands or tongs. Serve and enjoy!
Ardeth Brodie
Christie, everything I’ve tried in your post was wonderful.😋 I lived in Asia as a teenager and Korean food was my favorite. I loved your spinach in my favorite dish, Bibimbop. All your entries, which you shared so generously, sound wonderful & I can’t wait to try them ALL.
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Ardeth! I hope you enjoy all my recipes to come 🙂
Ardeth Brodie
EVERYTHING in your entry here is WONDERFUL! ! ! Thank you so much for sharing what you know with us. 👍👏🤩😊
christieathome
Thank you so much for making it Ardeth! I truly appreciate the kind support 🙂
Jen
I make this a few times a week - easy to make. I don't rinse the spinach after, but I have another bowl with ice and water. I drop the spinach in there, and quickly drain. I use less oil (just a tiny drop because sesame oil is very heavy for me) and I use maple syrup instead instead of white sugar, and it still tastes great! Love this!
christieathome
Thank you for making my recipe on a regular basis, Jen! Happy that you enjoy it 🙂
Billy
I loved it. It was so simple and tasty. My new way of eating spinach now.