Stir-fried Chinese water spinach (kongxincai 空心菜 or ong choy 蕹菜) with chiles and Sichuan pepper has an amazingly cacophonous crunch and is equally popular in Chinese restaurants and cooked in Chinese homes. Water spinach is a good neighbor to almost any other type of dish and is packed full of vitamins and minerals. For that reason, when we are in Lanzhou, China (Jie’s hometown), we often eat a version of this recipe, both in restaurants and at Jie’s parents’ house. We also frequently find stir-fried water spinach in authentic Chinese restaurants in the U.S. This is a quick and simple recipe that pairs perfectly with our mapo tofu.
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Water Spinach 101
What is water spinach?
Water spinach is called kongxincai in Sichuan province, China. Kongxincai means “hollow-heart vegetable” - because of the hollow steams (almost like a straw). It is referred to as tung choy or ong choy (蕹菜) in Cantonese, rau muống in Vietnamese, and kangkong in Indonesia. Water spinach is very common throughout East Asia where it is grown abundantly in wetlands and in greenhouses, but its exact origins are not known.
Water spinach is grown in the U.S. in California, Florida, Hawaii, and Texas (although it’s banned in some states). Rosharon, Texas is one of the larger producers, but their crop was threatened after Hurricane Harvey. Luckily for us, they have recovered and there are other strong producers of this delicious nutritious vegetable!
Where to find it
If you have ever been in a Chinese supermarket or other East Asian grocery stores, you know there is an entire wall of tasty leafy green vegetables. If you have never been in before it can be a little overwhelming because there are so many options when it comes to green veggies. Never fear! For one, even if you buy the wrong greens, they are still likely to be tasty and you can probably sauté them in a similar way. When we go to the grocery store, we often just look for the freshest leafy greens available and then we will cook those using similar seasoning as in this recipe. See the picture below for an example of what the aisle and actual package of greens looks like.
Sometimes the package is labeled as "on choy" instead of ong choy or water spinach.
How to choose
Look for water spinach that vibrant and not wilted. This sound intuitive, but many times if there are any slimy wilting areas visible on the outside of the bunch it will be worse in the center of the bunch. Look at the ends of the stalks and make sure they are green and not turning brown. If you can’t find fresh water spinach, be adventurous and buy some other leafy greens that look good to you :-).
Ingredients
- Chinese water spinach (Ong Choy - I have seen it spelled On Choy on the package)
- Sesame oil
- Dried whole chili peppers
- Sichuan pepper corns (ground)
- Cooking oil (olive or canola oil)
- Salt
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.
Instructions
Preparation
- Cut off the bottom 1 – 2 inches of the water spinach to remove any potentially tough fibrous portions. Wash the water spinach in a large bucket, thoroughly rinsing and draining the water about three times to remove any dirt from the water spinach.
- Cut the water spinach stalks into approximately 3-inch sections leaving the top leaves mostly uncut. Cut 2 slices of fresh ginger. Use scissors to cut the dried chilis into thirds. You can discard their seeds.
Heat the wok over medium high heat. Once hot, add the cooking oil and swirl around to cover the sides. When oil is slightly smoking, add the ginger and stir-fry approximately 30 seconds. Next, add the dried red chilis and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant. Do not allow the chilis to burn (Tip, if the chilis are starting to burn go ahead and put the water spinach into the wok to cool it down).
Add the cut water spinach to the wok and stir-fry. Pro Tip: use chopsticks along with your wok spatula to help move the water spinach around the wok.
Sprinkle salt over the greens as they are just starting to wilt. The salt will speed up the wilting process. Continue stir-frying until the greens are completely wilted and the stems are tender. Taste to ensure you add salt to your preference.
Once greens are completely wilted and tender, turn heat to low and add the sesame oil. Toss greens to evening distribute the sesame oil and then turn the heat off.
Congratulations, you just cooked Chinese water spinach! Plate, serve, and enjoy!!! You now have a new way to get your greens. -:)
Hint:If the dried chilis are starting to burn when sautéing initially, go ahead and add the water spinach to the wok to cool it down.
Substitutions/Variations
- Bok choy, napa cabbage - If you do not have access to water spinach, feel free to substitute almost any other greens you have access to. We like to substitute bok choy or napa cabbage when that is what we have in the fridge. There is also a “white” version of water spinach which works equally as well.
- Ginger – if you do not have ginger or just want a slightly different flavor, feel free to leave the ginger out of this dish.
Storage
Sautéed greens are best eaten right after they come out of the hot wok! You can store any leftovers in the fridge for 2 days, but the quality will be severely degraded. We suggest you make progress towards getting your recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day by cleaning the plate
Top tip
Do not overcook greens (nothing worse than mushy greens). You want the stems to stay crispy while also being tender. Usually once all the water spinach leaves have wilted, we sauté for an additional 1 – 2 minutes, but you can taste them throughout to get them just the way you like them.
📖 Recipe
Water Spinach (Ong Choy) with Chiles and Sichuan Pepper
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Chinese water spinach sometimes called Ong Choy
- 1.5 teaspoons sesame oil
- 4 dried chili peppers
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns ground
- 1.5 tablespoons Cooking oil olive or canola oil
- 2 slices fresh ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cut off the bottom 1 – 2 inches of the water spinach to remove any potentially tough fibrous portions. Wash the water spinach in a large bucket, thoroughly rinsing and draining the water about three times to remove any dirt from the water spinach.8 ounces Chinese water spinach
- Cut the water spinach stalks into approximately 3-inch sections leaving the top leaves mostly uncut. Cut 2 slices of fresh ginger. Use scissors to cut the dried chilis into thirds. You can discard their seeds.2 slices fresh ginger, 8 ounces Chinese water spinach
- Heat the wok over medium high heat. Once hot, add the cooking oil and swirl around to cover the sides. When oil is slightly smoking, add the ginger and stir-fry approximately 30 seconds. Next, add the dried red chilis and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry an additional 30 seconds or until fragrant. Do not allow the chilis to burn (Tip, if the chilis are starting to burn go ahead and put the water spinach into the wok to cool it down).4 dried chili peppers, 1.5 tablespoons Cooking oil, 2 slices fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- Add the cut water spinach to the wok and stir-fry. Pro Tip: use chopsticks along with your wok spatula to help move the water spinach around the wok.8 ounces Chinese water spinach
- Sprinkle salt over the greens as they are just starting to wilt. The salt will speed up the wilting process. Continue stir-frying until the greens are completely wilted and the stems are tender. Taste to ensure you add salt to your preference.¼ teaspoon Salt
- Once greens are completely wilted and tender, turn heat to low and add the sesame oil. Toss greens to evening distribute the sesame oil and then turn the heat off.1.5 teaspoons sesame oil
- Congratulations, you just cooked Chinese water spinach! Plate, serve, and enjoy!!! You now have a new way to get your greens.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition disclaimer
malaeats.com is created for informational purposes only. Although we do our best to provide nutritional information to our readers as a general guideline, we are not certified nutritionists and the nutritional values provided should be considered estimates. Numerous factors such as variations in fresh ingredients, brands purchased, etc. will alter the nutritional values in any recipe. Different online calculators also provide different results depending on their sources. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, please use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities you used.
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods (less than 2 hours is recommended by the CDC).
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
See more guidelines at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website.
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