Cold Spinach Salad with Sesame Paste
凉拌芝麻酱菠菜 · pan chinese cuisine
Fresh tender greens come into season in spring, and as the weather warms up, cold dishes like this become a staple on the table. The author notes the spinach weighed about 236 g as purchased and about 200 g after trimming the root ends. She skips added salt because the reduced-sodium soy sauce is salty enough; season to taste with extra salt if you prefer.
Hector NunezThird-generation taquero turned home cook. Nixtamal from scratch changed my life. Happy to talk tortilla technique with anyone who'll listen.Nutrition & allergens
Contains:PeanutsSoyWheat
Some ingredients are not yet allergen-surveyed; this label is not exhaustive.
Per serving (2 servings)
- Energy (kcal)
- Unknown
- Protein (g)
- Unknown
- Fat (g)
- Unknown
- Carbs (g)
- Unknown
- Sodium (mg)
- Unknown
Estimated from verified ingredient data for the original formula — not lab values, and one dish is not a full meal.
Techniques you'll use
- Pan-frying (jian) ↗
Sear food in a shallow layer of oil, one side at a time.
- Blanching (chao shui) ↗
Par-cook in boiling water to clean, tighten, or prep ingredients.
- Cold dressing (liang ban) ↗
Toss cooked or raw ingredients with a bold chilled dressing.
- Chili-oil infusion ↗
Pour hot oil over ground chilies and spices to extract color and heat.
Steps
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the spinach and peanuts. Trim and clean the spinach, then rinse it well under cold water and set aside.
✅ Done when: The spinach is fully trimmed, clean, and free of grit.
Add a little vegetable oil to a pan and heat over low heat, then add the peanuts and fry until cooked through.
✅ Done when: The peanuts are fried through and lightly fragrant.
Bring a pot of water with a few drops of vegetable oil to a boil, then blanch the spinach.
✅ Done when: The spinach has been blanched in boiling water and is wilted.
- 4
Step 4
Transfer the blanched spinach to cold water to soak, then squeeze out the excess water.
✅ Done when: The spinach is cool to the touch and squeezed dry with no excess water.
- 5
Step 5
Mash the garlic into a paste. In a bowl, combine the sesame paste with the reduced-sodium soy sauce, aromatic vinegar, sugar, and chicken bouillon to make the dressing.
✅ Done when: The garlic is mashed to a paste and the dressing ingredients are combined in the bowl.
Add the spinach and mix evenly, then add the fried peanuts. If you like it spicy, drizzle with chili oil and plate to serve.
✅ Done when: The spinach is evenly coated with dressing and the dish is plated and ready to serve.
For the chili oil, you can use a store-bought spicy chili oil, or make your own by frying coarse chili powder, Sichuan peppercorns, numbing peppercorns, white sesame seeds, and salt in hot vegetable oil, then letting it cool before use. The author finds the dish tastier with chili oil added.
✅ Done when: The chili oil is infused, fully cooled, and ready to drizzle.