A Simple and Flavorful Way to Cook Spinach
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 10 mins
Servings: 4
Seasoned Spinach is quick and easy to prepare, and pairs well with many dishes. The best part? It’s super tasty and you can create many different recipes with just small changes. Seasoned spinach a common side dish in Korean cuisine, and it is also a part of popular Korean dishes such as Bibimbap (rice with mixed vegetables), Jap Chae (stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat), and Gimbap (rice and seaweed rolls).
Today, I decided to give the most basic Seasoned Spinach recipe a fun twist by topping it with Candied Walnuts. I like both seasoned spinach and candied walnuts. Spinach is used in soups, nutritious green drinks, and salads. Caramelized walnuts are a classic addition to salads and charcuterie boards. So I thought why not combine the two and see how they pair?
It turns out to be very tasty and the caramelized walnuts definitely add extra flavor, making this a fantastic side dish for a hot summer day lunch.
So, let’s get started and make some yummy Seasoned Spinach with Candied Walnuts!
Prepping to Save Time
Before I begin cooking, I prefer to go through the recipe and steps, as well as gather all of the ingredients and supplies. This prepping step saves a lot of time and hassle while cooking.
Here’s what I did to save time before I began cooking:
- Rinse the spinach and put it in a strainer over a mixing bowl.
- Get every ingredient ready.
- (Optional) If you want to use iced water to cool down spinach, have a bowl of iced water ready.
- Put water in the pot to boil, and turn on the heat.
- While you wait for the water to boil, you can cut the long stems off the spinach and chop the garlic and/or onion.
Health Benefits of Spinach
Did you know that spinach (Spinacia oleracea), a green leafy vegetable, originated from Persia? Healthline says that eating spinach may be beneficial to your eyes, reduce the amount of oxidative stress in your body, help in prevention of cancer, and decrease your blood pressure. Read their article to learn about all the health benefits of eating spinach!
INGREDIENTS
I’m separating the ingredients list so you can easily see which ones you need for the spinach and walnuts.
Main Ingredients for Spinach:
- 1 bunch of spinach (about 12 oz or 340 grams)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons of soy sauce (or salt)
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons of honey (or sugar)
Optional Ingredients for Spinach:
- 2 teaspoons of minced garlic (about 2 cloves of garlic)
- ¼ cup of diced onion (about ½ oz)
Ingredients for Candied Walnut:
- 1/2 cup of walnut halves/pieces (about 1 ¾ oz) – add more as you like!
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or unsalted butter)
- 2 teaspoons of soy sauce (or salt) – add more as you need.
- 1 tablespoon of rice syrup (or sugar) – add more as you like!
STEPS TO MAKE IT
Blanching the Spinach:
1. First, rinse the spinach.
2. Cut any long stems off.
3. Blanch the spinach for one minute in boiling water!*
4. Remove the spinach from the boiling water and wash it with cold water using a strainer (or place it in a bowl of ice water).
5. Drain the water and squeeze any excess water out with your hands.
*Remember! When you blanch spinach, you don’t cook or boil it for too long. The spinach will be blanched so that it stays crunchy.
Seasoning the Spinach:
1. First, place the spinach in a mixing bowl.
2. Add soy sauce (or salt), sesame oil, and honey (or sugar) to taste.
3. Combine well and set aside.
(Optional step) Add minced garlic and/or finely diced onion to enhance flavor. I added some diced red onion to give it some texture.
Making Candied Walnuts:
1. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the walnut halves/pieces, soy soy ( or salt), rice syrup (or sugar), and olive oil (or butter).
3. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until all of the rice syrup is well mixed (or sugar has melted) and the nuts are coated**
4. Remove the skillet from heat and immediately transfer coated walnuts to a sheet of parchment paper and separate the nuts.
5. Once the nuts have cooled, add them to your seasoned spinach and serve!
**The level of heat affects how long it takes to cook. Make sure to stir frequently so the rice syrup (or sugar) doesn’t get stuck in one place and start to burn. Take it off the heat before it starts to burn.
Notes from the Bimble Life Kitchen:
Seasoned Spinach with Caramelized Walnuts is not a typical dish served in Korean restaurants, but it’s easy to make, tasty, and nutritious. You can find all the ingredients from any local groceries. Except for the rice syrup, all the ingredients in the recipe are from a local grocery store.
I hope you get the chance to make this delicious Seasoned Spinach with Candied Walnuts soon. If you have recipes for seasoned spinach, tell us all about it! We’d love to learn about them and give them a try!
