Gomae (Japanese Spinach Salad)

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February 13, 2016 by Liza Agbanlog 21 Comments

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Gomae (or Gomaae)is one of those dishes that my family likes to order when eating at Japanese restaurants. Gomae is a Japanese style spinach salad that is dressed with a sesame dressing. There is this one all-you-can-eat restaurant we used to go to a lot and we would order and consume many servings of this dish.The dish is good enough for us to order multiple times and healthy enough for us to consume guilt-free! So, I decided that I would attempt to re-create this great dish.

Surprisingly, this dish is quite easy to make. After boiling the spinach and cutting it into portions, the spinach is added to a delicious dressing made from crushed toasted sesame seeds, mirin, sake and sugar. I was surprised at how similar the taste was to the one we would order at Japanese restaurant. I was quite pleased and there were no left-overs as it was consumed almost immediately. What I like about this dish is that it’s so healthy, vegetarian and easy to make. It’s also very tasty and different from the typical salads we eat. I will definitely be making this over and over again!

Liza Agbanlog

Gomae (or Gomaae) is a Japanese style spinach salad that is dressed with a sesame dressing. It's a healthy vegetarian recipe that is easy to make and eat.

5 from 7 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 4 servings

Calories 63 kcal

Equipment

Mortar and Pestle or food processor

Ingredients

1 bag of ready-to-eat spinach (approx. 200 g)
salt to taste

Sesame Dressing

1/2 tsp of sake can substitute with 1/2 tsp of cooking sherry
1/2 tsp of mirin can substitute with 1/2 tsp of cooking sherry
3 tbsp roasted white sesame seeds
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp white sugar

Instructions

Heat a skillet to low heat. Toast the sesame seeds by placing them into the skillet. When a few of the sesame seeds begin to pop, remove from the heat.
Grind the sesame seeds using a mortar and pestle. If you don't have access to a motor and pestle, you can grind them in a food processor.
In a small bowl, combine the sesame seeds, soy sauce, sugar, sake and mirin. Mix well.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil add a pinch of salt.
Add spinach to boiling water and cook for one minute. Drain and soak with cold water until cooled.
Drain the spinach and make sure to remove as much water as possible. Collect the spinach and cut into 4 pieces (see picture above).
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Toss the spinach in the sesame dressing.

Notes

Recipe Source: Just One Cookbook

Nutrition

Calories: 63kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 3gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 422mgPotassium: 321mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 4689IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 108mgIron: 2mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Nutrition Facts

Gomae (Japanese Spinach Salad)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 63 Calories from Fat 27

% Daily Value*

Fat 3g5%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Sodium 422mg18%

Potassium 321mg9%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin A 4689IU94%

Vitamin C 14mg17%

Calcium 108mg11%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Andrea Farrell
November 21, 2023 at 6:55 pm

My spice grinder (coffee grinder) worked well to pulverize the toasted sesame seeds! Great flavor, I used 1 tsp of mirin because I didn’t have sherry or sake.
Reply
Dan Fehr
January 3, 2021 at 2:42 pm

I love this recipe, easy and tastes fantastic!
Reply
Erin
July 30, 2020 at 3:10 pm
My Japanese mom made this exactly the same way! And we LOVED it as kids! Thanks for sharing!
Reply
See Also
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- Liza Agbanlog
  July 31, 2020 at 9:15 am
  You’re welcome Erin!
  Reply
Pat
December 17, 2019 at 2:18 pm
How long will the sesame dressing keep if made in advance?
Reply
- Liza Agbanlog
  December 18, 2019 at 6:25 pm
  Hi Pat,
  You can make the dressing one week in advance.
  Reply
Dazu
January 29, 2019 at 3:20 pm

Delish and my Japanese husband says better than his Mom made😉
Reply
- Liza Agbanlog
  January 31, 2019 at 4:00 pm
  Hi Dazu,
  That’s great! Thanks for writing 🙂
  Reply
Jade
April 4, 2018 at 10:57 am
I would like to make your lovely dish for an Asian inspired evening I’m doing for a friend tomorrow. Would this dish keep if made today or should it be made fresh? (I ask because I’m making around 10 different dishes!) Thank you!
Reply
- Liza Agbanlog
  April 4, 2018 at 11:13 am
  Hi Jade, It should be okay to make the day before. I would recommend keeping the spinach and dressing separate until it’s ready to serve. I hope that helps!
  Reply
  - Jade
    April 5, 2018 at 2:54 am
    
    Thank you so much for your speedy reply! I love all things spinach and the dressing is lovely!
    Reply
Hhk
February 11, 2018 at 11:21 pm
This food is korean food.
Add to sesame oil.
Reply
JP
November 16, 2017 at 1:34 pm

Fantastic salad, was also searching for that restaurant taste and was not disappointed. I set aside some whole sesame seeds as garnish. I didn’t have any mirin, sake, or sherry on hand so I used rice vinegar instead, and it was still delicious.
Reply
Marie
August 17, 2017 at 8:57 am
most recipes use soy sauce – would this be in place of the sake? would it mean light or dark soy?
Reply
- Liza Agbanlog
  August 20, 2017 at 8:27 am
  Hi Marie,
  Just omit the sake if you don’t have access to it.
  Reply
Hara
January 11, 2017 at 10:18 pm
Can you tell me if there is a difference in making with raw sesame seeds?
Reply
- Liza Agbanlog
  January 13, 2017 at 8:09 am
  Hi Hara,
  Using raw sesame seeds won’t give you that toasty aroma and flavor.
  Reply
Meryem
June 21, 2016 at 8:39 am

I tried your recipe and it tastes good. Thanks a lot for sharing
Reply
- Liza A
  June 21, 2016 at 9:07 am
  You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked it.
  Reply
Drea
March 20, 2016 at 3:03 pm

Wow ! I was looking for a very different salad with unusual taste.
So I’m definitely going to try your dish ! It looks so good !
Thank you for this amazing recipe! 🙂
Reply
- Liza A
  March 21, 2016 at 3:02 pm
  Thanks so much Drea!
  Reply