Korean Spinach Salad, or Sigeumchi-namul, is a classic, popular Korean side dish. It’s always my favourite banchan whenever I’m at a Korean restaurant, fresh, savoury, and fragrant with sesame oil, and it comes together with just a handful of ingredients. It’s ready to eat as soon as it’s tossed, but I prefer chilling it for a few hours first for that cold, refreshing bite.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Ready in minutes: blanch, squeeze, toss, and it’s done.
Fresh and fragrant: garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil give it that unmistakable banchan flavour.
Just a handful of ingredients: spinach, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil are really all you need.
Great served cold: chilling it for a few hours gives it an even more refreshing bite.

Tips for Making This Recipe

Salt the Blanching Water (Optional): a little salt in the water helps the spinach keep its vibrant green colour.
Shock It in Cold Water (Optional): transfer the spinach to iced or cold water straight after blanching to stop it turning yellow from residual heat.
Don’t Over-Squeeze: squeeze out the excess water gently. Too much pressure and the spinach loses its texture.
Seasoning Powder Is Optional: it adds a touch more umami, but soy sauce alone works perfectly well without it.

Final Thoughts

Korean Spinach Salad is one of those banchan that proves simple can still be memorable. A quick blanch, a light seasoning, and a chill in the fridge gets you a side dish that’s fresh, fragrant, and just as good as the one that turns up free at every Korean restaurant table.

Korean Spinach Salad (Sigeumchi-namul)

Wanting

A simple, refreshing Korean side dish. Blanched spinach tossed in garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil, ready in just a few minutes.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Korean

Ingredients

260 g spinach
½ tsp salt, for blanching optional
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1-2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
½ tsp seasoning powder or MSG optional
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Instructions

Wash the spinach: Rinse the spinach thoroughly.
Blanch the spinach: Bring a pot of water to the boil and add a little salt (optional). Blanch the spinach for about 1 minute, until just slightly softened, then remove.

Adding salt to the water helps keep the spinach a vibrant green. Transfer the spinach to iced or cold water straight after blanching. This stops the residual heat from turning it yellow.

Squeeze out the water: Once the spinach has cooled, gently squeeze out the excess water by hand. Don't squeeze too hard, or the spinach will become too soft and lose its texture.
Season: Cut the spinach into bite-sized lengths if needed. Add the garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, seasoning powder or MSG (optional), and sesame seeds. Toss well and adjust to taste.

The seasoning powder adds a touch of extra umami, but it's completely optional. Soy sauce alone works just fine.

Notes

Keyword Korean, salad, Vegetarian