On my last excursion to Ranch 99, I spotted a vegetable that looked suspiciously like water spinach. Water spinach is a really mild tasting vegetable that I had for the first time at one of Bangkok's night markets a few years ago. I remember loving the stirfried water spinach and wondering how they made veggies taste so good!

It also goes by "water morning glory" or "pak boong" in Thai. At the market, though, it was labelled "ong choy", which didn't ring a bell for me. But I was feeling adventurous, so I brought it home, and after a little internet searching, figured out it's all the same vegetable!

I cooked it the way most vegetables are cooked in Thailand, stir fried very quickly over super high heat with garlic, chilis, and oyster sauce. The secret to this method is not cooking the vegetable for too long, but allowing the natural flavors and texture to really shine through. It's a great method for mild-mannered vegetables like water spinach/water morning glory/pak boong/ong choy or whatever you call it!

Recipe

Stirfried Water Spinach | Pak Boong Fai Dang | ผัดผักบุ้ง

Flash fried with plenty of Thai chilis, garlic, and oyster sauce, this water spinach is a quick and easy vegetable side dish with amazing flavors.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Vegetable

Cuisine: Thai

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 5

Total Time: 15

Servings:

Calories: 13kcal

Ingredients

3-4 cups water spinach
2 cloves garlic chopped finely
3-4 Thai chili peppers
1 teaspoon black bean paste
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce

Instructions

Wash and dry the water spinach and use your hands to break the stems into 2" pieces.
Heat oil on high heat until the pan is very hot. Add garlic and bean sauce and saute for ~10 seconds until the garlic turns golden brown, being careful not to burn it!
Quickly add the water spinach, peppers, and oyster sauce. Use two spatulas to stir fry until the water spinach starts to turn bright green (should be less than a minute).
Remove from the heat and enjoy!