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My cultural tour of Japanese food continues with this unique dish known as Ohitashi – Japanese Spinach.
Jump to RecipeThe recipe is super easy to put together but prepping the spinach takes a while :(. The spinach is wilted quickly – blanched, and then, shocked to stop the cooking. The key to this recipe is to squeeze out as much of the water in the spinach as possible.

My Japanese food tour began with the posting of a wonderful dessert known as MATCHA MOCHI. The dessert is flavored with matcha tea. I made two main courses, one with chicken and one with beef. The BEEF RICE BOWL was deep in flavor by marinating the beef and cooking it down with onions. The CHICKEN CURRY dish had a great gravy and wonderful breaded chicken breast pan fried.
The spinach dish is completed by creating a dashi marinade or dressing and pouring over the spinach. Note, that he leaves and the stems of the spinach are separated but both used. I liked both parts of the spinach. The dish was unique in flavor, very light and very healthy.

The cooking of the spinach.

The Japanese Spinach Plated.


Japanese Spinach – Ohitashi
Continuing my tour through Japanese food inspired by my friend Tom I offer this traditional Japanese dish known as Ohitashi – Spinach in a dashi dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Dashi
- 1/4 Cup Soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp Mirin
- 1 Bunch Spinach
- 2 Tsp Bonito Flakes
Instructions
-
Combine dashi, soy sauce, and mirin in a small bowl and set aside.
Cook the spinach in a large pot of boiling salted water just until wilted. Make sure it is still bright green. It only takes a few seconds. Drain and transfer to a large bowl of lightly salted ice water; let cool. Drain and squeeze out excess liquid from greens. Lay the spinach on a cutting board and cut off the stems. Pack the leaves into a cylinder shape. Lay the stems lengthwise.
Top the spinach bunches with the broth. Serve by drizzling on the bonito flakes over top. Enjoy!
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