Green Leafy Vegetable: #47 Water Spinach

Water Spinach/ 空心菜/ 蕹菜/ Swamp Spinach/ผักบุ้ง/  Pomoea Aquatica or Kangkóng/Ga Zun Ywet/ Water Morning Glory/Rau Muống/ Water Convolvulus 

Water Spinach has been and will always be a staple in my kitchen and kitchens across Asia.  You can eat the whole plant--from stalk to leaf. The stalk is hollow and the leaf is comparable to common spinach, but should not be eaten raw. Water Spinach is a good side dish and can be used as a garnish in noodles, but not rice (that would be weird).

There are many ways to prepare Water Spinach. Traditionally, the Chinese stir fry the stalks and leaves with garlic and/or chili. The Chinese are also known for stir frying Water Spinach with fermented bean curd.  Hakka Chinese cook Water Spinach with yellow bean paste and/or fried shallots.  

In Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia the leaves are stir fried with chili pepper, garlic, ginger and dried shrimp paste.  In Penang and Ipoh, Water Spinach is cooked with cuttlefish in a sweet and spicy sauce. In Thailand and Burma, Water Spinach is cooked with oyster sauce. In the Philippines, Water Spinach is cooked with onions, garlic, ginger, vinegar and soy sauce. Also, the Filipinos have been know to batter the stalks and deep fry them. In India, the leaves are chopped and mixed with shredded coconut. 

No matter how to prepare it, I love stir fried Water Spinach--with crisp stalks and savory leaves. The best places to get Water Spinach is T&T but Sunrise does sell Water Spinach from time to time.

 

Stir fried Water Spinach with Garlic and Chili

Ingredients

1 bundle of Water Spinach washed

3 cloves of garlic chopped

2 chilis chopped

Salt to taste

Preparation

Chop washed Water Spinach into 1 inch sections. Discard last inch of stalks.  On high- heat wok and add 1 tbs of oil or PAM spray.  Add garlic and chili and stir for 10 seconds. Add stalks only to wok. Stir for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the chopped Water Spinach, stir and cover 2 minutes. Stir and add 1/4 cup of water. Cover 2 minutes. Toss salt to taste and remove from heat once leaves turn dark green. Serve immediately.

Stir fried Water Spinach with Fermented Bean Curd

Water Spinach with fermented bean curd has a subtle savory-spicy flavor. With bean curd- there is no need to add salt or chili to the stir fry. Fermented bean curd is often eaten with Water Spinach and as a side to what you know as Congee. You can buy fermented bean curd at any Asian market in the area: T&T, Sunrise or Rice World.

Ingredients   

1 bundle of washed Water Spinach

1 cube of fermented bean curd

Preparation

Chop washed Water Spinach into 1 inch sections. Discard last inch of stalks.  On high- heat wok and add 1 tbs of oil or PAM spray. Add stalks only to wok. Stir for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the chopped Water Spinach, stir and cover 2 minutes. Stir and add cube of fermented bean curd and 1/4 cup of water. Break apart bean curd and toss mixture. Cover 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve immediately.