Put the sesame seeds in mortar and pestle and ground them so that about 50% of the seeds are grounded.

Add soy sauce and sugar and water to the sesame and mix well until the agave is dissolved.

Trim the root of each spinach cluster, leaving the root crown (small amount of pink portion at the end of the stems) intact.

Make shallow incisions on the root crown, criss-crossing the cuts (note 3).

Bunch the spinach clusters in the same direction and put a large elastic band (or tie loosely with a string) around to secure the bunch.

Add a pinch of salt to a large pot of boiling water, then put the root end of the spinach bunch (stems) into the pot. Cook for about 20 seconds.

Push the rest of the spinach into the pot to submerge the leaves in the boiling water. Cook for 30 seconds. Turn the bunch over so that the bottom part of the spinach comes to the surface. Let it cook for 5-10 seconds, then turn the heat off.

Drain the hot water immediately and add cold running water to the pot with the spinach to cool them down quickly (note 4). Rinse the spinach well.

Hold the root end of the spinach and squeeze the spinach to remove water so that the water is not draining from the spinach (note 5). Then remove the rubber band.

Place the spinach on a cutting board horizontally, aligning the root end.

Starting from the root end, cut the spinach into 5cm/2” long pieces.

If the root crown is very large and many stems are clustered, the 5cm/2" piece with the root crown can be very thick. Split it into 2-4 thin pieces using the incisions that were made earlier.

Taking a 5cm/2” bunch of spinach at a time, squeeze the water out of the spinach as much as possible, then put it in a bowl.

When all spinach pieces are placed in the bowl, untangle the spinach pieces into thin strands, since they will be tightly clustered after squeezing the water out.

Transfer the sesame dressing to the bowl with the spinach.

Mix well ensuring that sesame coats the spinach pieces evenly.

Transfer the Spinach Goma-ae into serving bowls.