World Cup Special: Korea - Seasoned Spinach

These World Cup Specials are coming thick and fast..... this time Korea.... well North Korea were playing Brazil and of course we needed to see Brazil play with a Korean meal.... yes, mmm! The reason I wanted to try Korean food is because of that mysterious dish Kim Chee.... a fermented cabbage dish that is supposed to be delicious. Well, Kim Chee takes a few days to ferment and be tasty and we were just not organised..... so a hasty replacement needed to be found. I will come back to Kim Chee very soon! So, seasoned spinach steps in to the breach. A simple dish with sesame seed oil, sesame seeds and soy sauce. Except it was too simple. So I added all the vegetables I had around; asparagus, and broad beans. Delicious. This uses the recipe from http://koreanrecipes.org/seasoned-spinach-korean-2/ but I drastically altered the ingredients....

Serves 2

couple good handfuls of fresh small flat-leaf spinach
Bunch of asparagus
1/2 pound of broad beans (unshelled)
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsps crushed sesame seeds
1 Tbs sesame oil
1 finely sliced onion
1 tsp vinegar (optional)
Salt Red pepper threads (optional)

1. In bowl, combine soy sauce, sugar, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and vinegar.
2. Bring large pot lightly salted water to boil. Add spinach, , and immerse only until leaves turn bright green.
3. Drain and rinse immediately in cold water. Drain and squeeze out as much water as possible.
4. Take the tips of the asparagus and keep separate. Using the rest of the asparagus finely chop.
5. Shell the broad beans... I also took the broad bean skins off for a milder taste.
6. In a separate pan gently fry the onion for about 5 minutes and then add the finely chopped asparagus.
7. Gently blanch the asparagus tips and add to the rest of the asparagus and onion. Add the broad beans and gently fry for about 2 minutes. Add the blanched spinach.
8. Put mixture in a bowl with soy sauce mixture and toss well. Serve at once, topped with few red pepper threads, if desired. Serve with a healthy serving of noodles.

And the scores: Game: 3 Food: 3 (hmm both the game and the food were good!)