00:00Looking for a simple, tasty and nutritious vegetable side dish that is easy to prepare
00:04in advance, then this Japanese ohitashi might be exactly what you're looking for.
00:09You can also find this recipe on my website along with over 400 Japanese recipes,
00:13just google ohitashi space stachi to find the written recipe.
00:18Here I have 200g of oriental spinach, which is the most commonly used vegetable for this dish,
00:24wash it in cold water, paying attention to the roots, which often have sands or dirt lodged in the crevices.
00:31If you can't get oriental spinach, either leafy greens like bok choy or even apple cabbage work
00:36well too, and you can use the exact same method. Once it's washed, place in a fresh boil of water
00:46and soak it for 10 minutes. In the meantime, we're going to make the marinade.
00:53Take a small saucepan and add 240ml of dashi stock, 2 tbsp of soy sauce, and 2 tbsp of mirin.
01:01Bring it to a boil and let it bubble for about 2 minutes to burn off some of the alcohol
01:06in the mirin.
01:07As always, all the ingredients and exact measurements for this recipe can be found in the description
01:12box below. This first style sauce is called hapoji. I'm using the fish-based dashi, so this wouldn't
01:18be suitable for vegetarians or vegans, but you can of course make it with plant-based dashi if you prefer.
01:26After 2 minutes of boiling, take it off the heat and set it outside to cool.
01:30Next, boil 2 litres of water in a separate pot and add 1 tbsp of salt. The salt should be
01:361% of the
01:37weight of the water, so adjust as necessary. Place the spinach in a pot with the roots submerged,
01:43but the leaves sticking out. Hold the roots for 30 seconds. The stems at the bottom are thicker
01:50and need a little more cooking than the leaves. After 30 seconds, push the leaves down and blanch
01:56them for 15 seconds. It's important not to let the leaves boil for too long, otherwise they'll
02:01become mushy and discoloured. If you're using a different vegetable, you might need to boil it a
02:06little longer depending on the thickness. Transfer the blanched spinach to a bowl of ice water.
02:12This will shock it, stop it from overcooking and preserve its texture and colour. We're going to
02:17leave it to soak in the ice water for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes have passed, prepare a bamboo sushi
02:23mat. We're going to use this to remove the water thoroughly. Gently squeeze the spinach and place it
02:29on the mat following the direction of the bamboo. Roll up the mat and squeeze it over the bowl.
02:43This will remove the majority of the water without damaging it. Roll the mat and drizzle the spinach with
02:57the sauce. This will remove any remaining water. Then, you can roll it up and squeeze it once more.
03:08This process of removing the water will prevent the sauce from becoming diluted
03:16and ensure the spinach absorbs maximum flavour.
03:21Finally, we're going to cut the spinach in half and place in a sealable container.
03:26If your container is big enough, you don't need to cut it in half though.
03:32Hold the sauce over the top.
03:38I recommend placing a piece of plastic wrap on the surface so that it's touching the top of the spinach.
03:45This will ensure more even coverage, especially if it's not completely submerged.
03:50Place a lid on top and marinate it in the fridge for at least an hour. If you have time,
03:55it will taste
03:56even better if you wait and leave it overnight.
04:00OK, this has finished marinating, so I'm going to remove the roots and cut it into by-sized pieces.
04:11You can place leftovers back in the sauce and leave it in the fridge. It will be good for 2
04:18-3 days,
04:19depending on the weather and climate. Place it in a small dish with a drizzle of sauce.
04:32And sprinkle of bonito flakes. For a plant-based version, you can omit the bonito flakes or even
04:39substitute sesame seeds instead. And that's it. I know it's simple,
04:43but spinach ohitashi is really delicious and the perfect side dish for any Japanese meal.
04:48Want even more delicious recipes? Grab my free cookbook from the link in the description.
04:55OK, let's go over the ingredients one more time, and if you're ready to cook,
04:59grab the written instructions by clicking the full recipe box with a picture that's about to pop up
05:03on your screen. There we go, the link to the full recipe is on the screen now, and if you
05:09want to
05:09watch more similar videos, don't miss my salad playlist popping up on your screen as well. Thanks so much
05:15for watching, and I hope to see you in the next one. Bye!
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