Add more greens and variety to your meal with an easy stir-fry water spinach dish. It is fresh, tasty, and full of essential nutrients that you’ll love. On top of that, this leafy dish can be prepared in less than 15 minutes! It is the fastest side dish to prepare for your main dish.
What Is Water Spinach Stir Fry?
One of the most common vegetables for stir-frying is water spinach. This vegetable is long and leafy like a regular spinach, but the difference is that the stems are hollow and thicker.
It is also known as river spinach, morning glory, or Chinese water spinach.
In other regions or countries, it is called ong choy in Cantonese, kangkong in Tagalog, rau muống in Vietnamese, trakuon in Cambodia, and kangkung in Indonesia, to name a few. Both its leaves and stems are edible and can be eaten cooked or raw. It is available all year round and is typically sold in your local Asian grocery store.
In my water spinach stir fry recipe, we’ll cook it with my special sauce made with fermented tofu, Shaoxing rice wine, sugar, and salt. The water spinach is first stir-fried with minced garlic and fresh chili pepper. Then, we pour the savory sauce over the water spinach, and it’s done!
All About The Ingredients Of Water Spinach Stir Fry
This recipe has three main ingredients: water spinach, the sauce, and stir-fry ingredients. I have listed some essential tips below about each ingredient. Here’s what you need to know, from how to prepare and alternatives to use:
Water Spinach
- The first thing you need to do is to clean the water spinach. Cut off the bottom stem and remove wilted leaves. Then, you can cut and divide the water spinach into 3-inch portions. Clean the water spinach by soaking in cold water and rinsing it under running water to remove soil and dirt. If you’re a fan of water spinach, be sure to give my Ong Choy with Garlic Sauce recipe a try!
The Sauce
The sauce is the base flavor of the dish. It is a mix of fermented tofu, Shaoxing rice wine, sugar, and salt.
- If you don’t know yet, fermented tofu is a Chinese condiment sold in blocks and stored in aged brine in jars. It is also called preserved tofu, fermented bean curd, and stinky tofu. There isn’t a single substitute for this ingredient, so I highly recommend looking for this in your local Asian grocery store. However, if you can’t find fermented tofu, you can use red miso paste to resemble the deep flavors of fermented tofu.
- Shaoxing rice wine is also known as shàoxīng jiǔ (绍兴酒) and yellow wine. It is made with water, fermented glutinous rice, and wheat. It is sweet and umami, with a sharp after-taste. You can use dry sherry or Japanese mirin if you need an alternative. However, I recommend lessening or removing the sugar from the sauce since mirin is sweeter than Shaoxing rice wine.
- Adjust the amount of sugar according to your desired level of sweetness. You can use maple syrup, brown or white sugar, coconut sugar, muscovado, or agave. In my recipe, you need 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/2 tsp salt to balance the flavors of fermented tofu and Shaoxing rice wine.
Stir-Fry Ingredients
Before cooking the water spinach, we first stir-fry the minced garlic and fresh chili peppers.
- Garlic is a staple stir-fry ingredient that gives a nutty and pungent flavor. If you don’t have garlic but want the garlicky flavors, you can substitute 1 garlic clove with 1/8 tsp of garlic powder or 1/4 tsp of granulated garlic to give you the garlicky flavor without the bits of minced garlic.
- The fresh chili peppers will make the dish hot and spicy, so it is best to omit them if you do not like spicy flavors. You can use either green or red chili peppers in Julienne cut. The closest substitute to 1 whole chili pepper is 1/4 tsp chili flakes.
What To Prepare For Water Spinach Stir Fry
When you have decided on the ingredients to use, you can start preparing what you need for the recipe. I recommend using a traditional wok for stir-fry dishes.
The height and wide sides of the wok make it ideal for stirring and tossing the ingredients without spilling.
Plus, the smoky flavor produced is way better than an ordinary pan. You also need a mixing bowl for the sauce and your typical knife and chopping board for cutting.
Kitchen Items
- Mixing bowl
- Wok (or non-stick pan)
- Spatula
- Knife and chopping board
Ingredients
Sauce
- 4 blocks of fermented tofu
- 1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Stir-Fry
- A bundle of water spinach
- 20g minced garlic
- 20g fresh chili pepper (Julienned)
- Oil
How To Make Water Spinach Stir Fry
Now that you have prepared the ingredients for the dish, you can begin with the recipe instructions.
The main steps include cleaning the water spinach, mixing the sauce, stir-frying the vegetables, and pouring the sauce over the vegetables. Find out how I cooked the dish through my Instagram and Tiktok tutorial videos.
Prepare The Water Spinach
Cut off the bottom stem and remove wilted leaves. Then, divide the water spinach into 3-inch portions. You don’t need to separate the leaves from the stem.
Soak in cold water and rinse it under running water to remove soil and dirt.
Mix The Sauce
In a mixing bowl, put fermented tofu, Shaoxing rice wine, sugar, and salt.
Mix the ingredients by mashing the tofu with a spoon until it becomes smooth and saucy.
Stir-Fry The Vegetables
Heat enough oil for stir-frying in a wok. You can use a non-stick pan if you don’t have a wok. Once the oil is hot, stir-fry the minced garlic and fresh chili pepper until fragrant.
Then, add the water spinach.
Continue to stir-fry on high heat.
Next, pour the sauce and stir well.
Stir-fry until the vegetables are soft. Do not overcook the vegetables, or they will become soggy and lose the crunch.
Serve and enjoy while hot and tender.
Easy Chinese Water Spinach Stir Fry
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Wok (or non-stick pan)
- Spatula
- Knife and chopping board
Ingredients
Sauce
- 4 blocks of fermented tofu
- 1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Stir-Fry
- A bundle of water spinach
- 20 g minced garlic
- 20 g fresh chili pepper Julienned
- Oil
Instructions
Prepare The Water Spinach
- Cut off the bottom stem and remove wilted leaves.
- Then, divide the water spinach into 3-inch portions. You don’t need to separate the leaves from the stem.
- Soak in cold water and rinse it under running water to remove soil and dirt.
Mix The Sauce
- In a mixing bowl, put fermented tofu, Shaoxing rice wine, sugar, and salt.
- Mix the ingredients by mashing the tofu with a spoon until it becomes smooth and saucy.
Stir-Fry The Vegetables
- Heat enough oil for stir-frying in a wok. You can use a non-stick pan if you don't have a wok.
- Once the oil is hot, stir-fry the minced garlic and fresh chili pepper until fragrant.
- Then, add the water spinach.
- Continue to stir-fry on high heat.
- Next, pour the sauce and stir well.
- Stir-fry until the vegetables are soft. Do not overcook the vegetables, or they will become soggy and lose the crunch.
- Serve and enjoy while hot and tender.
