Spinach Side Dish - Spicy version, Gochujang Sigeumchi Namul

시금치고추장나물

This is a simple Korean side dish made with blanched spinach and dressed with flavorful seasonings. Sigeumchi, or spinach, is a popular vegetable used in namul. Namul is a general Korean term for any type of seasoned vegetable dish. Vegetables are typically blanched first, then tossed with seasonings.

prep time:

15 min

inactive time:

0 min

cooking time:

15 min

total time:

30 min

Spicyness:

Spiciness:

medium

Flag meal as:

bibimbap

quick n easy

healthy

salad

nut free

vegetarian

vegan

Serve as:

side dish (ban-chan)

salad

namul

Cooking Method:

blanch

Main Ingredient:

vegetables

Serves:

200oz

Ingredients:

Spinach 시금치

Ingredients:

Water 물

Ingredients:

Salt 소금

Ingredients:

Hot Pepper Paste (Gochujang) 고추장

Ingredients:

Green Onion 파

Ingredients:

Garlic Clove (whole) 통마늘

Ingredients:

Salt 소금

Ingredients:

Sesame Oil 참기름

Ingredients:

Sesame Seeds 깨

Ingredients Heading:

For blanching spinach

text

For seasoning

Ingredients Optional:

text

(more or less depending on type and brand)

text

(ground, optional)

Optional Ingredients and Substitutions
Salt: The amount of salt may vary depending on the type and the brand of the salt you use. Always taste the food and add salt gradually. Kosher salt or sea salt is always better than table salt (refined) in terms of taste and nutrition.

Good to Know
Salt: If available, natural sea salt always makes food taste better. Remember, sea salt has a different saltiness than table salt. So taste as you gradually add it. If you are using coarse salt, make sure it's mixed very well.

Mix the blanched spinach with the seasoning sauce right before serving for best flavor and presentation.

You can store the dish in the refrigerator about 1 day. In general, Korean namul dishes do not last a long time.

More questions? Please leave your questions below in the comments section. We will do our best to answer as soon as we can.

instructions	photos	summary
Ingredient amounts in the recipe instructions are for the default serving size.	Click to enlarge photos.	Ingredient amounts in the recipe summary are for the default serving size.
1. Mince garlic Mince 2 cloves of garlic to yield about 1 teaspoon of minced garlic.		1 Mince 2 cloves garlic
2. Chop green onion Finely chop ½ green onion. Use only the green part of the green onion or mix with a little bit of the white part.		2 Chop ½ green onion
3. Prepare spinach Cut off the root ends of spinach with scissors. Wash it thoroughly under running water.		3 Cut root ends Wash thoroughly
4. Blanch Boil 4 cups of water on high heat. Add ½ teaspoon of salt. Blanch spinach in boiling water for 1 min on high heat.		4 Boil 4 cups water high heat High Heat Add ½ teaspoon salt Blanch in boiling water 1 min 1 min
5. Rinse Rinse spinach twice in cold water. Squeeze all the water out with hands.		5 Rinse in cold water twice Squeeze water out
6. Season Season spinach with 1 tablespoon of hot pepper paste, chopped green onions, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic, ¼ teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and ½ teaspoon of ground sesame seeds. Mix by hand gently and thoroughly. If you don’t have a sesame seed grinder, you can use whole sesame seeds.		6 Season 1 tbs hot pepper paste chopped green onion 1 tsp minced garlic ¼ tsp salt 1 tbs sesame oil ½ tsp ground sesame seeds Mix well
7. Serve Serve in a side dish plate. Enjoy! *Mix the blanched spinach with the seasoning sauce right before serving for best flavor and presentation.		7 Enjoy!