I found out that my husband is buying $40 of sashimi grade tuna for a poke extravaganza for Valentine's Day. I have been give the charge of coming up with a side dish. I am thinking I'll make Goma-ae, but wanted to ask you freaks if you have any other, better ideas for a Japanese side dish that won't be too filling.

Oh shit, PLEASE post the poke recipe if it comes out right. I found a tone of recipes but wasn't sure which one I wanted to use.

do you like spinach? if you do, i'll dig up this nifty spinach thing i can't remember the name of at this moment

French fries. Or those little lunchable bags of Frito-Lays.

yum.

Goma-ae MIGHT be the spinach thing, Theresa. If you have a good recipe, by all means, hip me to it. I found a couple online for goma-ae. It is the cold, pressed spinach salad with sesame oil and rice wine.

It is the cold, pressed spinach salad with sesame oil and rice wine.

I thought that was a soy sauce base. Isn't the one with sesame oil and rice wine made with cucumbers?

japanese cucumber salad is made w/ rice wine & sesame oil

gomae = fresh spinach tied in a bundle (stem ends intact), blanched in rolling, boiling, SALTED water for about 30 seconds (max) and drained and then trimmed and dressed w/ a dressing made from soy sauce, miso paste and water. of course, you CAN flavor it with rice wine vinegar also. top this w/ TOASTED sesame seeds.

my mom is japanese and that's how she made it. of course, there's no right or wrong - its all per your taste

Yeah, I love the gomae.

I beleive sesame seeds are pretty integral to the dish...Goma being sesame in Japanese. Ususally mashed up in a little grinding bowl. I've seem other green veg's goma'd as well, not just spinach.

The thing I had definitely had some sesame oil in it somewhere with the rice wine and soy/tahini. It was like a compressed square of spinach rather than tied. Does this sound familiar, Theresa, as something else? Either way it is getting made.

It's fairly easy to make but I have trouble getting the taste I'd prefer.
Wash spinach, if stem is thick cut an X through the bottom. SALTED water is the key as Theresa said, I boiled to about 45 second to 1 minute (maybe there was my mistake), strain and wash with cold water. Squeeze out excess water by lightly wringing with stems together and cut to around 3 cm length pieces. Grind sesame seeds (roughly 4 tablespoons per bunch of spinach---around 4 servings). Mix ground sesame seeds with 1 tbsp of soy sauce per 4 tablespoons of sesame and add 1/2 cup of teaspoon of sugar for dressing. Finally, mix together with spinach.
I've had it mixed with a little bit of sake added which may have been why mine didn't taste how I wanted it to. Good luck!

So I could leave the rice wine out if I add sugar, huh? (I don't have any rice wine and I'd like to not have to go shopping tomorrow.)

japanese cucumber salad is made w/ rice wine & sesame oil
damn this shit is good. easy too

Why not a little veggie tempura? I recommend Alden Brown's "I'm Just Here for the Food" for a good tempura batter...yummmmy. Or some edamame (I know Costco has it in the frozen foods, talk about easy).

evil gal is my boss...i'm corrupting my office

Tempura is a little anti-poke. I like tempura with miso soup. Cold with the cold and hot with the hot.

fiery - there is no right or wrong!

my mom made a spinach thing where she did blanch it tied in a bundle, squeezed it out, and cut it into a compact little square. depending on her mood, it was dressed w/ all kinds of things

two prevailing dressings:
rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, sugar

soy sauce, miso paste, water, little tiny tofu cubes

ALWAYS toasted black and white sesame seeds on top

if you don't have rice wine vinegar - try apple cider vinegar. the sesame oil is the thing that REALLY makes it. you will need a sugary/fruity wine vinegar to balance out the sesame oil's heaviness

Thank you so much--that must be how they do the little square! I alwys wanted to know. I envisioned dilligent little chefs carefully pressing the spinach together until it was just so.

I'm doing the square version and I will let everyone know how it goes; I will have such a sashimi hangover after tomorrow. I seriously could eat poke for every meal.

I seriously could eat poke for every meal.

same!

I envisioned dilligent little chefs carefully pressing the spinach together until it was just so.

well, with the japanese chefs.... you never know! real perfectionists.

when you squeeze out the spinach bundles - be careful.... do it between two tea towels so you don't crush the hell out of the leaves or break the bundles. my mom used to wring em like rags, but i tried that and ended up breaking the bundles.