Name: Seasoned Spinach (Sigumchi Namul)
Prep time: 9 min
Cook time: 1 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium); 1 tbsp sesame oil; 1 tbsp garlic (minced); 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; ½ tsp salt; 11 oz baby spinach

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This easy Seasoned Spinach is our go-to side dish! It’s a Korean spinach side dish that takes less than 10 minutes to make and is definitely our favourite way to enjoy spinach. Packed with flavour and can be enjoyed warmed or chilled, this spinach banchan is going to be your go-to as well!

I love a quick and easy side dish. One of H’s favourite things about going to a Korean restaurant is the variety of banchans (side dishes) they serve. This spinach banchan in particular is one of our go-to as it’s healthy, simple, and easy to recreate at home.

Why You’ll Love This Side Dish

It’s our favourite spinach side dish as leftovers do not require reheating so you can make a huge batch on a weekend and slowly enjoy it straight out of the fridge throughout the week! The perfect meal prep!
This Korean spinach side dish is so easy to make, it literally takes less than 10 minutes! The hardest part is squeezing the water from the spinach!
It’s a super healthy side dish as it’s literally just seasoned spinach. So if you want to get some extra greens into your diet, simply serve this up with any entree. It goes with everything!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients needed to make Korean seasoned spinach (Sigumchi Namul)

soy sauce — I recommend using low sodium. Sometimes, H likes to omit the soy sauce from this Korean spinach side dish entirely. Let me know which way you prefer it!
sesame oil — I’m a fan of pure sesame oil for this but you can also use toasted sesame oil as well!
garlic — I like to use freshly minced garlic. I always have garlic frozen which is why the photo up above have the garlic as a square piece. Here’s how to freeze garlic.
sesame seeds — I always go with toasted sesame seeds.
salt — use a pinch. I always use Diamond kosher salt.
baby spinach — while it looks like a ton of spinach in the photo above, once it is cooked, it shrinks!

How to Make Korean Seasoned Spinach

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and salt. Mix and then set aside.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and then add the spinach in for 30 seconds.
Drain the spinach and run it under some cold water to stop the cooking process.

Spinach squeezed to remove extra liquid.

With clean hands, squeeze the spinach, a handful at a time, to remove any excess liquid.
Spread the spinach out/loosen it from the balls that you just made from squeezing the water out. I usually just use two chopsticks.
Pour the soy sauce mixture that was set aside onto the spinach, and toss to combine.

Seasoned spinach in a plate (Sigumchi Namul).

Recipe Tips and Notes

This seasoned spinach can be serve warm or chilled. I prefer it chilled.
It’s important to squeeze the water out of the spinach or it’ll just taste watery.
Feel free to add some gochujang or gochugaru to the mixture for some added spice.
Avoid overcooking the spinach as it’ll taste bitter and be slimy. Rinsing the spinach under cold water should stop the cooking process or you can transfer the blanched spinach to ice water.
H likes to enjoy this without soy sauce as well! Try it out and let me know which way you prefer!

Serving Ideas

Here are some of my favourite recipes to serve with this seasoned spinach recipe:

Make Ahead Tips

Meal prep: once cooled, store the seasoned spinach in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Enjoy it straight from the fridge or reheated.
Freezer: while you can freeze cooked spinach, I haven’t tried freezing this recipe in particular. I usually use frozen spinach in soups and stews as the shape isn’t too important but since this seasoned spinach is a side dish, I didn’t want it to lose its shape or texture from being frozen.

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Seasoned Spinach (Sigumchi Namul)

5 from 1 vote

Print Rate

Prep Time: 9

Cook Time: 1

Total Time: 10

Servings: servings

Ingredients

2 tbsp soy sauce, low sodium
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
½ tsp salt
11 oz baby spinach

Instructions

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and salt. Mix and then set aside.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and then add the spinach in for 30 seconds.
Drain the spinach and run it under some cold water to stop the cooking process.
With clean hands, squeeze the spinach, a handful at a time, to remove any excess liquid.
Spread the spinach out/loosen it from the balls that you just made from squeezing the water out. I usually just use two chopsticks.
Pour the soy sauce mixture that was set aside onto the spinach, and toss to combine.

Tried this recipe?Did you make this recipe? I’m always so happy to hear about it! I’d love to see how it turned out. Tag me at @CarmysHungry on Instagram so I can see it! If you enjoyed the recipe, I’d really appreciate a comment with a 5 star rating! ♥

Nutrition Per Serving

Author: Carmy

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: Korean

Nutrition Disclaimer

More Side Dishes to Try

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Comments

Jenni A

January 28, 2023 at 2:40 am

Hi Carmy, reading through the above spinach recipe. The minced garlic is mentioned in the ingredients but not anywhere in the above blurb or method.. Should the garlic the there or when is it added please?
Thank you

- Carmy
  
  January 28, 2023 at 10:46 am
  
  Sorry about that! You simply add the minced garlic to the soy sauce mixture. I’ll update the post – thank you for catching that.