Saturday, May 15, 2010

Stir-fried Water Spinach

Marija from Palachinka is back to host this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I have semi-aquatic, leaf vegetable known as Water Spinach.

water spinach© by Haalo

Water Spinach is something I've only started noticing this year and the supply of it, seems to be quite limited. Sold in bunches, the stems are hollow, which are a tell-tale sign of their aquatic nature while the leaves are narrow and elongated.

When it comes to thinking of what to do with it, well, stir frying seems the most obvious way. As a commercial cooktop doesn't generate anywhere near the heat of a commercial one, I've decided to use some of that smoked garlic in the process to infuse the dish with those smoky notes you get with high temperature cooking.

stir-fried water spinach© by Haalo


Stir-fried Water Spinach with Ginger

2 bunches Water spinach
1 clove smoked garlic
fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
Chinese Rice Wine
Soy Sauce


Prepare the water spinach:
Pick the leaves from stem - wash, drain and put to one side. Trim the ends off the stems and then slice them into even sized lengths, about the size of your little finger. Wash and drain and set to one side.

Place a wok over a medium heat, drizzle in a little neutral oil and a clove of smoked garlic. Swirl this around to flavour the oil and season the pan and discard the garlic when it is golden.

Add in the julienned ginger, they should sizzle, swirl them around before adding in the water spinach stems. It's important to keep the ingredients moving so they colour evenly. When the stems have started to soften, add in the water spinach leaves, toss them vigorously before deglazing with a splash of Chinese Rice wine and Soy sauce.

Cook until wilted and then serve at once.

6 comments

  1. This looks like a great side dish. I love spinach so I am keen to try the water variety.

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  2. I've seen water spinach mentioned in magazines, but I never knew what it looked like.

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  3. Hello Haalo! Delicious recipe and outstanding ingredient! as always. Is this the same as morning glory? I've seen it used a lot in Thailand (though I think it's chinese in origin) and I loved it!...obviously never seen it here in Spain! As so many other ingredients that I've tried elsewhere that I've really liked!:( You are sooo lucky to find these!!! And about the smoked garlic! Never heard of it!!I've seen your post on smoked garlic all-i-oli, it looks amazing too! If it's from France, since it's not too far I may be lucky enough to find it!

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  4. You always have so unusual ingredients! Would love to get a chance to try this spinach :) Perfect entry to whb!

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  5. Did you like it? Sometimes, it may feel fibrous. How restaurants perfect this is really, the HIGH HEAT!

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  6. I've tried this dish in Indonesia - Kangkung Tumis Terasi - which is Water Spinach Stir Fry with Shrimp Paste and lots of chillies - yummmmmm. Very mouth watering

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