Goma-ae is a dish usually served with spinach, but there are many variations of the dish that are just as delicious. Using spinach is my favorite way to prepare it, but depending on what is in the fridge, I may have to change things up a bit. In in my previous post I showed you how to make sesame dressing (goma-ae), so now let’s put it to use!
This weekend I visited my mother, and as usual she made me take a visit to her little plot of land she tends to with her gardening club.
Coming from a farming family, I have to say, there is nothing like eating freshly grown vegetables. Unfortunately, there weren’t a lot of vegetables to take home this trip. 
Apparently they were in the midst of an epic battle with the local deer and losing badly. After climbing through the series of barriers set up to deter the deer, we came across casualty after casualty in the ground. With her woven basket in hand, my mother scavenged her plants until finally she was able to find a suitable harvest. The only things that remained untouched were mainly green and leafy, so plenty of salad for me!
The best pick of the day happened to be a small bundle of her heirloom broccoli. The heads looked so plump, I knew I had to serve them with a sesame sauce.
For this version, I added a little miso to the sauce to thicken it up a bit. I’ve found that using broccoli results in more water in the heads even after draining, so the addition of miso brings out more flavor and helps it cling to the heads better. If you prefer, you can leave it out.
Recipe – Broccoli with Sesame Sauce:
– Toast sesame seeds over medium heat until fragrant.
– Grind in spice grinder then mix with sugar, soy sauce and miso.
– Cut the broccoli so that only the heads remain. (You can use the leftover stems to make broccoli kinpura, so save them for later!)
– Bring a small pot of water to a boil on the stove. Once boiling add the broccoli and boil for 3 to 5 minutes until cooked through.
– Transfer the broccoli to a colander and drain well. A lot of water stays trapped in the heads, so be sure to shake it as much as possible!
– Once cooled, add the broccoli back to the pot and mix with the sesame dressing.
Goma-ae is usually served at room temperature, so you can make it ahead of time and it will be good to go when it’s time to eat!
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