Horenso to kani no shogazu-ae / spinach and crab in ginger vinegar dressing

A sunomono dish with spinach and crab. Ginger adds a faintly spicy bite.

<Ingredients>

Small handful (40-50 g) crabmeat
1/2 bunch (100-120 g) spinach


For shogazu ginger vinegar dressing
2 tbsp dashi
2 tsp usukuchi soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp citrus juice (combination of lemon, yuzu and lime juice in photo)
1 small knob ginger


<Directions>
1.

In a small bowl, mix dashi, usukuchi soy sauce, rice vinegar and citrus juice.

Grate ginger.








Squeeze in ginger juice.
Set aside.

2.

Bring plenty of water to boil, and blanch spinach.
First put the root ends, then leaves.

When color brightens, immediately transfer to ice water to stop cooking.

When cool, squeeze out extra water, and cut into 3-4 cm.

3.

Squeeze out water from spinach again, and place in bowl.

Fluff up spinach, add crab, and gently mix. 

4.

Immediately before serving, pour the ginger vinegar dressing.

Serve.

<Notes>

• Alternatively, serve spinach and crab in individual bowls, and pour dressing at the table.
• Sunomono means a dish with rice vinegar dressing.
• Sunomono rice vinegar dressing for vegetables is usually sweetened. Here, the base rice vinegar dressing is unsweetened, which is more common with seafood.
• Shogazu literally means ginger vinegar.
• Citrus juice is optional. If using, ideally you should mix at least three kinds for a milder result. One or two kinds can make the citrus taste too strong. If not using citrus juice, substitute with rice vinegar.
• I use kombu kelp infused rice vinegar, which tastes milder than straight rice vinegar. If using straight rice vinegar, you might want to reduce the amount somewhat, especially because the dressing above is not sweetened, and the sourness of vinegar could stand out.