Make the most of your spinach

This is the fifth in a series on how to get by as a vegan or vegetarian in rural Korea. ― Ed.

Seen easiest in early spring or fall, spinach (sigeumchi) can be had year-round, but off-season the bulk of your purchase will be stalks.

That's not necessarily a bad thing if you're going for crunch, or planning on cooking it (stalks shrink less), but it is not so good for salads.

So you've bought 3,000 won ($2.50) worth of spinach, which happens to be a giant bag, and are wondering how to use it up in a week? No problem. The best approach is to eat it raw until it loses some freshness, and later cook it, and there will be no telling the dishes were made with slightly aged vegetables.

In the raw phase, you have two main options. Salad is my favorite: Rinse, drain, cut the "tails," and shred the leaves. Mix with other vegetables and dressing as you see fit.

Example one: Add carrots and apples and the "hong cho" dressing from last week. Example two: add tomatoes and sauteed mushrooms and a balsamic dressing. Example three: pick either of the above mixes and add the standard Asian seasoning combination detailed below.

The alternative is to "think samgyeopsal" and make wraps. Use the spinach like you would other leaves to wrap rice, veggies, and sauce (omnivores can throw in meat). Dip them in "doenjang" or another paste as a snack.

Those two options should use up about half your spinach, feeding one person for about three days. But after that it will have become less than saladworthy, and it will be better to cook it.

Most importantly, don't overcook. It can't be said enough. Blanche, parboil or lightly saute, but do not leave on the heat for too long. When cooking it in a sauce, you hardly need pre-cook at all, unless you like green mush.

Having already mentioned it, I should describe how to make the standard Asian flavor ubiquitous in Korea: Thaw your frozen ginger, garlic and green onions first (the equivalent of about 2 tablespoons each); sesame seeds are rarely a bad idea. Then take equal parts of soy sauce (ganjang) and brown sugar (heukseoltang) and equal parts sesame oil (chamgireum) and vinegar (sikcho).

Throw everything in a jar (starting with 1/3 cup of each if unsure) and shake vigorously. Veggie bullion and red pepper can be added to taste.

If you're using it as a sauce (say on a tofu or sauteed mushroom dish) you'll want to add a thickening agent later. Dissolve the flour in a quarter-cup of water. When you add this mix, the sauce should thicken quickly in the pan, and the color will change from having a black tint to a more "neutral" brown.

You can use this combination with anything. I like to saute onions and tofu, briefly throw in spinach before adding the sauce. If you're looking to make an all-vegetarian side then leave out the ginger, garlic, green onions and flour and add the "sauce" to blanched spinach.

By Darren Bean!

Darren Bean! is a former prosecutor and lecturer in the department of Criminology at Chosun University. He can be reached at themagicbean@hotmail.com. The exclamation mark is part of his legal name. ― Ed.