Chinese spinach salad with peanuts is a traditional northern Chinese dish that my mom makes all the time. Unlike many Western spinach salads which use raw spinach, Chinese spinach salad uses blanched spinach for its tender texture. Combined with crispy peanuts and a refreshing vinaigrette dressing, it is the perfect appetizer to pique your appetite and it pairs perfectly with many types of main dishes.
Chinese spinach salad ingredients
The spinach
You should use regular spinach (it’s sold in batches and has thicker stems and leaves), not baby spinach, for this dish.
The dressing
The vinegar sauce is delicious and contains only five ingredients. The main ingredient is Chinkiang vinegar, a Chinese fermented vinegar that is somewhere between balsamic vinegar and malt vinegar. It has a dark brown color and a deep fermented umami, tastes slightly sweet but not as sweet as balsamic vinegar. Soy sauce, sugar, salt, and grated ginger are added to the vinegar to create a savory umami sauce that is rich and refreshing.
The peanuts
Back in China, it’s very common to use freshly fried skin-on peanuts to make Chinese spinach salad. When freshly deep fried, the peanuts are buttery and crispy, still a little warm. They taste so good that sometimes the peanuts are served in the vinegar dressing by themselves. Here in the homestyle version, I opt to use store-bought pre roasted peanuts. I also coarsely chop them instead of serving them whole. Not only does it save a lot of time and the trouble of deep frying, but the chopped peanuts also grab onto the spinach better and add satisfying texture to the dish.
How to make Chinese spinach salad
Making this Chinese spinach salad is super easy:
Can I make Chinese spinach ahead of time?
Once you’ve mixed it together, the Chinese spinach salad holds quite well if stored in the fridge for a few hours. However, I wouldn’t make it a day ahead. The spinach will start to release water and the color will become dull, and the peanuts will get soggy.
How to serve Chinese spinach salad
Chinese spinach salad with peanuts is a cold appetizer. It is called 凉菜 (liang cai) in Chinese, literally means cold dish. It is usually served before the main course if it’s in a restaurant. At home, we usually serve it alongside our main dishes, together with a staple (rice or noodles), and soup. Chinese spinach salad is a great way to add nutrition to your daily meals. Once cooked, the spinach will shrink a lot and taste very concentrated in flavor. Even though it’s a Northern Chinese dish, it goes very well with most Chinese dishes no matter whether it is savory, sweet or spicy.
More delicious Chinese appetizers
Chinese Chicken Dumplings (鸡肉饺子)Pork Lettuce Wrap (San Choy Bow)Old-Beijing Fried Carrot Fritters (炸素丸子)Easy Steamed Tofu (蒸豆腐)Chinese Celery and Peanut Salad
