The ingredients for this recipe are very simple.
Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
Set water to boiling.
Remove the firmest parts of your greens. This example, Thai spinach, is soft, so you can easily remove the hard stems by pinching off the leaves. For a harder-veined plant like chard, you would need to use a knife to slice out the central vein from each leaf. In general, cut the greens as little as possible.
Thoroughly wash any dirt from your leaves.
Add the greens to boiling water. Reduce heat to simmer, and simmer for one minute.
As quickly and safely as possible, transfer the greens from the boiling water into the ice water. Cool for about one minute.
Drain the greens and pick out the ice cubes.
Forcefully squeeze the blanched greens to press out moisture.
Slice the greens into pieces that can easily picked up by chopstick.
Place in a dish and serve as a small side dish (okazu). It should be cold and splashed with a bit of soy sauce.
This dish keeps well in the fridge for about four days, and the spinach absorbs more of the soy sauce flavor over time.