Cah Kangkung Bawang Putih (Water Spinach with Garlic)

This vegetable dish, not only that, it is easy and quick to cook but also easily pleased even the pickiest eater. This water spinach with garlic, or known as cah kangkung bawang putih, is one of my kids’ favorite. It is not tough to chew, has a distinct yet subtle sweet and nutty flavor. Cooked with garlic will highlight and bring the flavor of the water spinach out to a higher level.

In fact, cooking water spinach with garlic, cah kangkung bawang putih, is very popular in Asia. Cooking water spinach with shrimp paste (belacan or terasi) is also very popular over there. You can pretty much find this dish in most of Asian restaurant. Water spinach is known as kangkung or kangkong in South East Asia. In Cantonese, it is known as Ong Choy and it is called Kong Xin Cai (空 心菜) in Mandarin. So, look for those words in the menu if you happen to order to Asian restaurant. Anyhow, let’s get cooking, shall we?

Tools I used:

• Nonstick wok – Easy to clean, heat-up evenly, and, the best part, it is non-stick. I usually use this big wok for making fried rice, pad see ew, pad thai, steaming fish, or any stir-frying in general.

Tip: For meat lover, you can add some meats to this dish such as chicken, pork or beef. For vegetarian, you can substitute the oyster sauce with mushroom sauce and skip the dried ebi. Also, it is better to cook the water spinach in a high heat, so be quick and stir it often so that it won’t get burnt easily.

Ingredient:

• 1 ½ lb water spinach – cleaned and cut into about 3-4 inches long
• 3 cloves garlic – minced
• 2 tablespoons dried ebi
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce (or can be replaced with mushroom sauce)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red Thai chili (optional) – thinly diagonally-sliced
• ¼ cup water
• Salt and white pepper

Direction:

• In a small bowl, submerge the dried ebi and leave it for about 15-20 minutes. Once it is a bit soften, minced the dried ebi and set it aside.
• In a big skillet or wok, pre-heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in medium heat.
• Once heated, add minced garlic and ebi. Cook until it is fragrant (or about 5-10 seconds).
• Then, add water spinach, oyster sauce, water, salt and pepper.
• Turn up the heat into high heat. Give a quick stir until the leaves are half wilted. Depending on the heat, the water spinach should be ready in 2-3 minutes.
• Once it’s done, transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with the sliced chili. Enjoy!