Chilled Japanese Sesame Spinach {Paleo, Whole30, Vegan}

/

Chilled Japanese sesame spinach is a great paleo, Whole30, and vegan vegetable. Enjoy it as a starter or side to any meal. (This post contains Affiliate links. Read more here)

Chilled Japanese sesame spinach is a great healthy vegetable to enjoy as a starter or side | TastingPage.com #paleo #whole30 #vegan #glutenfree #healthyrecipe #spinach

You know I love my veggies. I love them sauteed, broiled, baked, marinated, grilled, and now I have a new one to add to my list. The technique used in this chilled Japanese sesame spinach recipe is blanching and then serving it cold.

I can’t take credit for the recipe. It comes from one of my food blogger friends ChihYu Smith from iHeartumami. She just wrote a beautiful cookbook called Asian Paleo.

ChihYu was born and raised in Taiwan and grew up around a lot of amazing food. Now she’s taken the wonderful Asian flavors that everyone loves and cut out the gluten, grains, dairy, sugar, and soy. So of course I’m down with her paleo cooking.

The Asian Paleo cookbook has 5 sections to fit every culinary craving. There’s Weeknight BFF for fast dinners, Batch-Cooking to get your meals ready for the week, Weekend Fun for entertaining, Easy Add-Ons so you can mix and match recipes, and Flavor Pop for paleo perfect condiments.

cold sesame spinach

You’ll also learn what you need to stock an Asian Paleo pantry and you even get weekly meal prep inspiration.

I’ve never thought to eat blanched spinach cold but it totally works in this recipe. You’ll want to double the sauce because it’s that good. Serve some on the chilled Japanese sesame spinach and the rest on other veggies of your choosing.

Paleo spinach with sesame

Chilled Japanese Sesame Spinach
{Paleo, Whole30, Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegetarian}

Reprinted With Permission From Asian Paleo

Serves 3

Ingredients

  • Salt

  • 1 large bunch fresh spinach

  • Toasted sesame seeds (optional)

  • 1-1/2 tablespoons tahini

  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos

  • 1 garlic clove, grated

  • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Season the water with a pinch of salt.

  2. In the meantime, prepare the sesame sauce: mix together the sauce ingredients with 1-1/2 tablespoons water (add more for a thinner sauce) in a small bowl and set aside.

  3. Rinse the spinach. Roughly cut the whole bunch of spinach into three to four large sections.

  4. Quickly blanch the spinach in the boiling water for 10 to 15 seconds. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and preserve the vibrant color.

  5. Gently squeeze the spinach with your hands to remove all of the excess water. Place the spinach in a serving bowl. Drizzle with the sesame sauce and give the spinach a quick toss. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds before serving, if desired.

Other Healthy Vegetable Recipes