This Thai stir-fried water spinach is easy to make and a great way to get your greens in! It’s delicious and ready under 20 minutes. So good with steamed rice or plain rice soup!
Water Spinach | Morning Glory | Pakboong (ผักบุ้ง)
Water spinach, also known as morning glory and pak boong (ผักบุ้ง) in Thai, is a vegetable that tastes really delicious. Some other good things about this leafy green vegetable are that it’s low in calories and rich in vitamins and minerals.
What We’ve Been Told: In Thailand, water spinach is normally introduced to children when they’re in kindergarten but we make sure to cut it into small pieces so that it’s easy for them to eat. Almost every Thai person who went to a Thai school as a kid has been told by their teachers that water spinach is good for their eye health. And it is with this very dish, Stir-Fried Water Spinach or Pad Pak Boong, that they usually get us started on eating water spinach.
Stir-Fried Water Spinach or Morning Glory (Pad Pak Boong)
Arguably the most common and popular water spinach dish among Thais, stir-fried water spinach can be found at pretty much every restaurant and dtam sang (made to order) vendor and rice soup place (ran khao tom | ร้านข้าวต้ม). It’s the big sister of the Thai stir-fried water mimosa and a great alternative to the Thai basil chicken when you don’t know what to order, HA! People like to order or make this dish with crispy pork belly and that’s incredibly good. Except it definitely isn’t the healthiest choice. Water spinach stir-fry with crispy pork belly every once in a while isn’t so bad but you can also make this dish with chicken, squid, shrimp, or whatever else you prefer, really.
I like mine with just water spinach but if I’m feeling like I need a fuller meal, I usually add chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces.
Ingredients
The ingredients we need for this dish are pretty simple. Though some Thais will make it even simpler by using just fish sauce and a tiny bit of sugar to round out the flavor, and that’s fine. However, I like to use fermented soybean paste and oyster sauce because my mother has always made this dish with these and I love it.
- 1 bundle of water spinach, about 12.5 ounces or 350 grams
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 4 red Thai chilies
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons of fermented soybean paste
The One Ingredient You Should Not Omit
Can you guess which one of the ingredients you should not omit?
It’s the fermented soybean paste! Did you get it right? You might wonder why this is so, as oyster sauce and fermented soybean paste are both salty and have a thicker consistency than, say, fish sauce or soy sauce. This is because it helps add that umami flavor and it helps the other ingredients to coat the water spinach well, making every bite so delicious. I think the fermented soybean paste makes stir-fried morning glory a little bit more special. Also, I find that with oyster sauce and fermented soybean paste, I don’t need to use sugar to round out the flavor. That’s something, isn’t it?
Making This Dish Healthier or Vegan
This dish is a stir-fry so you WILL need a little bit of oil. If you don’t want any fat in this dish, technically, you can replace the oil with water. But, of course, it will never be as tasty as water is runny and will dilute the flavors. I string recommend using a healthy oil like olive oil so that you can retain all the flavors. Plus, 1 tablespoon of oil to a bundle of water spinach isn’t a bad ratio at all.
Now, for any of you who are vegans, you can replace the oyster sauce with soy sauce. This way, your stir-fry sauce will still taste good and you will also have the consistency of the fermented soybean paste to keep it not runny.
Instructions
- Prepare the water spinach by chopping off the roots and first few inches of all the stalks and discard. This part is usually too fibrous and you don’t want it in your stir-fry.
- Remove any yellow or bruised leaves and rinse the rest of the stalks with running water. Then, chop them into 3-4 cm pieces (you can do the whole bunch with each cut) and set aside.
- Peel the garlic and remove the stems of the chilies. Roughly pound the garlic, and then the chilies in your mortar with a pestle. Set the mixture aside.
- Set a pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and wait for about 1 minute or until the oil is hot.
- Add the garlic and chili mixture and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Put the chopped water spinach in the pan and stir for about 2 minutes or until slightly wilted.
- Add the oyster sauce, followed by the fermented soybean paste. Continue to stir to mix all the ingredients until the water spinach turns bright green and more wilted, about 2 minutes. Note that you don’t want the water spinach to be completely wilted and dark in color.
How To Serve This Dish
This dish is best served hot right off the stove and finished within one sitting. Otherwise, you’ll end up with sad, soggy water spinach that doesn’t look so appealing. So, be sure to cook it in the right amount when you’re ready to eat and serve it with steamed rice or plain rice porridge.
Other Recipes You Might Enjoy:
- Easy Cabbage Stir Fry
- Stir-Fried Yardlong Beans with Bacon
- Bean Sprouts Stir-Fried with Tofu Puffs
- Thai Cashew Chicken
- Eggplant Stir-Fried with Thai Basil Leaves & Salted Soy Beans
Stir-Fried Water Spinach or Pad Pak Boong Recipe
Equipment
- Mortar and pestle
- Frying pan
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 bundle water spinach about 12.5 ounces or 350 grams
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 red Thai chilies
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons fermented soybean paste
Instructions
- Prepare the water spinach by chopping off the roots and first few inches of all the stalks and discard. This part is usually too fibrous and you don't want it in your stir-fry.
- Remove any yellow or bruised leaves and rinse the rest of the stalks with running water. Then, chop them into 3-4 cm pieces (you can do the whole bunch with each cut) and set aside.
- Peel the garlic and remove the stems of the chilies. Roughly pound the garlic, and then the chilies in your mortar with a pestle. Set the mixture aside.
- Set a pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and wait for about 1 minute or until the oil is hot.
- Add the garlic and chili mixture and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Put the chopped water spinach in the pan and stir for about 2 minutes or until slightly wilted.
- Add the oyster sauce, followed by the fermented soybean paste. Continue to stir to mix all the ingredients until the water spinach turns bright green and more wilted, about 2 minutes. Note that you don't want the water spinach to be completely wilted and dark in color.
Video
Notes
- If you want to keep this dish healthy, simply use a healthy oil.
- To make it vegan, just replace the oyster sauce with soy sauce.
- This dish is best served right off the stove and finished within one sitting. Otherwise, the morning glory will look too wilted and sad. So only make it in the right amount and when you're ready to eat. Reheating is not recommended.