Recipe

Spicy Water Spinach

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Photo by edamame2003

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Vegetarian Holiday Side

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Greens
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edamame2003's Notes: Most Thanksgiving dinners in my memory include the string bean casserole (the canned soup and the fried onion company must do a lot of their business on this holiday) and Creamed Spinach...
Most Thanksgiving dinners in my memory include the string bean casserole (the canned soup and the fried onion company must do a lot of their business on this holiday) and Creamed Spinach. Sometimes with all the calorie-heavy sides, you just want a salad or simple greens. There’s another option available around this time of year--the Chinese Water Spinach. It cooks similarly to the spinach we are all familiar with, reducing to about a third of the amount originally thrown in the pan, but it packs the added bonus of thin hollow stems, that when cooked, add a crunch to leafy greens. The chili peppers add a bite to the dish--just don't actually bite into them.

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Serves 4 as a side

1 bunch water spinach (ong choy, water morning glory) Ask a question about this ingredient

4-5 cloves garlic Ask a question about this ingredient

4-5 Thai peppers (or bird peppers) Ask a question about this ingredient

1 tablespoon Chili Shrimp Paste (garlic, black bean, sugar, shrimp paste, soy oil) OR a mixture of 1 Tablespoon black bean sauce + 1 teaspoon sugar Ask a question about this ingredient

1 tablespoon fish sauce Ask a question about this ingredient

2 tablespoons grape seed oil Ask a question about this ingredient

Crush the garlic and lightly smash the chili peppers (do not cut or grind)
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Wash and cut the water spinach into three inch long pieces.
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Heat up the grape seed oil in a wok and add the garlic and chili peppers. (Medium heat)
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Stir around and add the chili shrimp paste (or black bean sauce + sugar)
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Dump the water spinach in and stir fry, rotating the spinach to coat with the sauce and cook for about 3 minutes. You don’t need to add water or broth, as the spinach tends to give off a lot of liquid.
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Add fish sauce.
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Mix together and take the spinach off the burner.
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4 Comments on Spicy Water Spinach

gingerroot added 8 months ago

YUM! Can't wait to make this.

ashley_samuel_pierson added 9 months ago

This looks great! My hubbie and I love spicy food, so this should be perfect!

FrancesRenHuang added 9 months ago

love this dish, the best thai veggie dish ever!

edamame2003 added 9 months ago

thanks frances--my friends refer to it as their favorite vietnamese veggie dish. it took me a few to realize we were all talking about the same dish! i just add peppers to mine.