Traditional Korean side dish segeumchi namul is blanched and cooled spinach with garlic, sesame oil, sugar, and soy sauce. A simple and refreshing vegetable banchan, it combines well with rice or Korean dishes like bibimbap or galbi.
My paleo and gluten-free sigeumchi namul uses coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and no sugar. Don't worry, gorgeous little heads—this Whole30-compatible and soy-free sigeumchi namul is just as easy and tasty as the original.
Nothing will be noticeable to most! The recipe involves blanching spinach in boiling water for a minute or microwave steaming for 2 minutes. Pick your own journey!
Traditional spinach blanching involves waiting for the water to boil, which can take a few minutes.
When I'm in a hurry, I throw spinach in a covered and vented Anyday Large Deep Dish and microwave it for 2 minutes until the leaves and stems are bright green and soft. I steam spinach nicely in my Anyday bowl without adding liquid!
Baby spinach leaves are too fragile and can turn mushy for this recipe, so I use ordinary spinach. To flavor and texture this dish, I slice a thin stem of green onions. If scallions are unavailable, I've used minced chives or onion powder.
1 10-ounce bunch spinach, cleaned, drained, and ends clipped 1 thinly-sliced green onion 1 minced tiny garlic clove 2 tsp coconut aminos
1-tsp toasted sesame oil 1/8 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt 1-tsp roasted sesame seeds Optional: ¼ teaspoon gochugaru or red pepper flakes
1-tsp toasted sesame oil 1/8 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt 1-tsp roasted sesame seeds Optional: ¼ teaspoon gochugaru or red pepper flakes