This is the easiest way to cook morning glory aka water spinach or 空心菜 (kōng xīn cài) in Chinese, which in my biased opinion is one of the top 3 leafy greens. The crunchy hollow stems are so good. Here’s a quick stir-fry that you can enjoy in just 10 minutes.
Cut the morning glory into 3-inch sections starting from the bottom (stem) end.
Thoroughly rinse with cold tap water until the water runs clear, then drain in a colander. Allow the washed vegetables to drain well so there's minimal excess water. Otherwise, you won't get the "breadth of the wok" 鑊氣 flavor. See notes below on more fibrous stems.
cook
Heat a 12-inch seasoned wok or cast iron pan over medium-high heat until the pan is hot (about 15 seconds for a wok or 3 minutes for a cast iron pan).
Add the canola oil, tilt the pan to evenly coat the cooking surface, and add in the sliced garlic. Stir for about 10 seconds until the garlic is fragrant and turn the heat to high right before adding the morning glory. If the stems are thicker than what’s shown in the photos above, you can cook the stems first for 1 minute, toss with a spatula, and then add the leaves.
Stir-fry the contents in the pan by constantly flipping and moving the vegetables with your spatula to prevent burning. Season with salt and continue to toss the morning glory with your spatula. Stir-fry until the stems and leaves turn brighter green (about 5 minutes) and immediately turn off the heat.
Transfer to a serving platter, top with flaky sea salt (optional), and serve hot.
notes
MORE FIBROUS STEMS: If you’re only able to find morning glory / water spinach with thicker stems, you can trim the ends off by cutting 2-3 inches off the bottom. You’ll be able to tell if the stems are slightly fibrous by bending the stems (see the photo in the blog post above for reference). You’ll feel resistance when trying to bend the stem if they’re not as tender.VARIATIONS:
For the spice addict (like me), you can add half of a fresh Thai chili pepper (about ½ inch) when you add the garlic to the pan. I usually leave the seeds in (spicy), but you can remove the seeds first if you like.
Looking for more flavor? Add 1 teaspoon of shacha sauce (mentioned in the blog post above) when you add the water spinach to the pan.
tried this recipe?Tag me @thesoundofcooking! I'd love to see what you made.