AI-generated image
Kangkung goreng
Water spinach flash-fried with garlic, chilli and fermented soybeans
Kangkung grows in wet ditches and paddy edges right across Malaysia, and every zi char stall and kopitiam kitchen has a pile waiting for the wok. Ordered beside rice and a curry at lunch, or as one of several shared plates at night, it arrives glossy, hollow stems still crunchy, leaves just collapsed. Hawkers often fry it with belacan; this version gets its savoury punch from garlic, shallots, red chilli and a spoon of fermented soybean paste (tauco) instead. It's done in under five minutes. Chef's tip: dry the washed greens thoroughly in a salad spinner, because wet leaves cool the wok and steam instead of sizzle.
- Total time
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat a wok over a high heat until it just smokes, then swirl in 2 tbsp vegetable oil. Add 4 cloves garlic, 3 shallots, 2 red chillies and 2 bird's eye chillies and stir-fry for 30–40 seconds, until the garlic is pale gold and smells sweet; any browner and it turns bitter.
1 minStep 2: Add 1 tbsp fermented soybean paste (tauco) and fry for 20 seconds, pressing it into the oil so it sizzles and smells toasty.
Step 3: Tip in the 14 oz water spinach (kangkung) stems and toss for 1 minute over the highest heat. A common mistake is cramming the whole lot in at once: if your wok is small, cook in two batches so it fries rather than stews.
1 minStep 4: Add the leaves, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, ½ tsp sugar and 2 tbsp water and toss for 1–2 minutes more, just until the leaves wilt and turn deep green while the stems still crunch.
2 minStep 5: Tip onto a plate straight away, with all the juices, and serve with rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 90 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 8 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kangkung goreng take?
- About 10 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Herb croutons
Golden, crunchy cubes of day-old bread, brushed with olive oil and baked with parsley. Scatter them over any soup just before serving, or toss them through a salad. Swap the parsley for garlic powder to make garlic croutons.
Roasted red pepper & fennel
Big pieces of sweet red pepper and fennel tossed with lemon, black pepper and olive oil and roasted until soft and just starting to brown, then topped with black olives, toasted pine nuts and fresh herbs. It works as a side or a light starter, warm or cold. The vegetables can also be roasted on the barbecue jiko.
Baked cream potatoes
Thin potato slices and onion baked in fresh cream with plenty of garlic and coarse black pepper until tender and browned at the edges. Serve as a side dish with pizza or pasta, or as a snack with chilli and tomato sauce.