Chinese Water Spinach Stir Fry
3-4 Servings
0:15 Prep
0:05 Cook
Easy – You’ve got this!
This recipe was created in partnership with Wok Culture.
Water spinach, kang kong, morning glory, rau muong or ong choy are all names for the same versatile vegetable often seen in Asian stir fries, soups and salads. A leafy green that is the ideal ingredient for a simple and tasty stir fry.
While spinach wasn’t something I loved, water spinach was a vegetable I adored and grew up eating. Fresh, crisp and umami water spinach seasoned with a pinch of anchovy salt and garlic, then wok tossed to add a smoky ‘wok hei’ element was the perfect accompaniment to any dish. For those unfamiliar with ‘wok hei’, it’s the smoky aroma obtained in stir fries when cooked in a wok with a wok burner at high heat.
If you’re new to wok cooking, this is a great recipe to get you started. This recipe is an example of how a simple leafy green with umami seasonings, tossed in a carbon steel wok with an outdoor wok burner station can yield the most delicious vegetable stir fry. Although water spinach, spinach and baby spinach come from the same family, what makes water spinach the perfect green for stir frying is its larger, more fibrous and hollow stems, allowing it to sustain heat for longer and soak up the seasoning.
There are two key steps when preparing Chinese water spinach that will give you a restaurant-worthy wok stir fry. Water spinach stems and their leaves have different cooking times with the stems taking a bit longer. Make sure you separate the stems and leaves prior to stir frying in your wok. Secondly, the stems need to be blanched in lightly-salted boiling water for 10 seconds (no longer!) then strained and immediately plunged in cold water to partially cook through and maintain their crisp and vibrant green appearance.
If vegetable stir fries and wok cooking is something you are into, definitely give this quick and easy recipe a whirl.
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
1 large bunch (700g) water spinach, stalks and leaves separated
3 tablespoons cooking oil
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon anchovy salt or MSG
Method:
1. Cut water spinach stalks into 4-5 cm pieces then blanch the leaves and stems in a large pot of lightly-salted boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain and immediately place in a large bowl of cold water for 2 minutes or until cool, then drain and set aside.
Duncan’s Tip: Organise your work station before blanching the water spinach. Over-blanching them will cause the stems to soften and lose their crisp.
2. In a wok with the burner on low, add oil and garlic and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add blanched water spinach stems and leaves, sea salt, anchovy salt or MSG and stir fry on medium-high for 1 minute. Remove and serve on a large plate.
Duncan’s Tip: For variety, try this stir fry recipe with fermented beancurd, XO sauce, or sambal.
