Ohitashi (Seri and Spinach in Dashi)

Name: Ohitashi (Seri and Spinach in Dashi)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: Kuroda seri or Japanese parsley 60 g; spinach 140 g; dashi 90 ml; mirin 15 ml; light soy sauce 15 ml

Quick answer

Active time: 25 min
Waiting: See the steps
Level: Easy
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 5

About this dish

Briefly blanched seri and spinach soak for 8 to 12 hours in chilled dashi seasoned with mirin and light soy sauce, long enough for the broth to seep all the way into the greens.

Instead of being tossed in a dressing, the vegetables are served moistened with that clear liquid, letting their own fragrance come through. The two greens are blanched separately so the tender spinach does not overcook while the seri stems keep a distinct bite. Twisting them dry would crush the stems and leave the dashi soaking in unevenly, so they are lined up and pressed between the palms instead. Seri, a Japanese water dropwort, gets swapped for Korean minari when Kuroda seri is hard to find.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

Kuroda seri or Japanese parsley

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Instructions

5 steps

1

Boil 15ml mirin in a small pan over medium heat for 30 seconds.

Add 90ml dashi and 15ml light soy sauce, remove from heat as soon as it boils, transfer to a wide container, cool completely, and refrigerate.
2

Trim root ends and damaged leaves from 60g seri and 140g spinach and wash twice in cold water.

Keep stems and leaves aligned and cut them into 4 to 5cm lengths.
3

Bring a large pot of water to a vigorous boil.

Immerse spinach stems for 20 seconds, add leaves for 20 seconds more, and transfer to cold water. Blanch seri stems for 15 seconds, add leaves for another 15 seconds, and chill immediately.
4

Gather the greens neatly and press them gently between the palms to remove water without twisting.

Divide into four bundles, submerge completely in the chilled dashi seasoning, cover, and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
5

Just before serving, lift the greens and press lightly to control excess broth.

Divide seri and spinach evenly among four dishes, spoon 1 tablespoon soaking dashi over each, and serve chilled.