← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 400 g water spinach (ong choy), cut into 6 cm lengths, stems and leaves kept apart
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 6 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 Dried chillies (optional)
• ½ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or water (optional)

Method

1. Wash the water spinach well and shake it fairly dry; a little water clinging to it helps it steam.
2. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and chillies (if using) and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant and barely golden.
3. Turn the heat to high, add the stems and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the leaves, salt and sugar and toss constantly.
4. Splash in the wine or water around the edge of the wok and keep tossing for 1–2 min, until the leaves have just wilted and the stems are still crunchy. Serve at once.

Tips

• Shaoxing wine contains wheat; use water to keep it gluten-free.
• For the Cantonese restaurant version, mash 2 cubes of fermented bean curd with a little of its liquid and add with the garlic.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook Tiffy Cooks