Horenso Goma Ae
Steamed spinach with sesame seed and miso
2006-05-04 Chris Shenton
Serves 2-4

First eaten at Sushi Taro in DC.  Found various recipes on the web
which are similar to the one in _A First Book of Japanese Cooking_ by
Masako Yamaoka.

The book does this with green beans and I've done it with steamed
broccoli; I bet it would be dynamite on some crunchy Wakame seaweed.
I've also substituted sake or rice wine when I didn't have the Dashi.

10	ounce	Spinach, stemmed
2	Tbs	Sesame Seeds, toasted
1/2	Tbs	Dashi (3/4 C water and 1/4 tsp granules)
1 1/2	tsp	Miso, white
1	Tbs	Soy
1	Tbs	Sugar

Blanch the spinach briefly in boiling salted water -- a minute max --
and shock in ice water.  Fish out leaves and lay on kitchen towels to
dry; this is a bit of a nuisance but you don't want them to get
tangled up in a mass or it will be too dense.

Toast the Sesame Seeds in a dry skillet, then grind the Sesame Seeds
with a mortar and pestle until it becomes a crumbly paste.
Dissolve the Sugar in the Soy so it doesn't have a gritty texture when
you eat it; it may help to heat the Soy.
Combine all ingredients except the Spinach and adjust liquid until it
has the consistency of a thick pancake batter.

Put Spinach into a bowl and stir in sauce to combine.
Serve.