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    Home » Recipes » All Recipes » Healthy Meals

    Stir Fried Water Spinach (morning glory) ผัดผักบุ้ง pad pak boong

    Published: Aug 25, 2014 · Modified: Jan 17, 2021 by Pailin Chongchitnant · This post may contain affiliate links

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    Simple, rustic Thai home cooking. This is a popular side dish made frequently in any Thai home. So easy, so quick, and super delicious with some jasmine rice!

    Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

    All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

    Ingredients

    Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

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    • Water spinach, cut stems into 2-3" pieces, leave the leaves whole
    • Cloves garlic
    • Thai chilies
    • Oyster sauce
    • Tao Jiew (fermented soy bean paste), also see Rad Na and Kao Mun Gai videos
    • Soy sauce
    • Sugar
    • White pepper
    • Water, as needed
    • Vegetable oil

    How to Make Stir Fried Water Spinach (morning glory) ผัดผักบุ้ง pad pak boong

    Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

    1. Mix together oyster sauce, tao jiew, soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper; stir to dissolve the sugar.
    2. Pound chilies in a mortar until fine. Add garlic and pound just until broken into chunks.
    3. In a wok, over high heat, add vegetable oil and garlic-chili mixture. Cook until the garlic starts to brown. Add the water spinach and the sauce, then toss until the sauce is well distributed and the water spinach is slightly wilted and heated through.
    4. Add a splash of water if it seems too dry. As soon as it’s done, turn off the heat and immediately remove the water spinach from the pan onto a serving plate to stop it from wilting further.
    5. Serve immediately with jasmine rice or plain congee. Enjoy!
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    Water Spinach Stir-Fry - Pad Pak Boong

    Stir Fried Water Spinach (morning glory) ผัดผักบุ้ง pad pak boong

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 8 reviews
    • Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
    • Yield: Serves 2-3
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    Ingredients

    • 150 g water spinach, cut stems into 2-3" pieces, leave the leaves whole
    • 5-6 cloves garlic
    • 2-3 Thai chilies
    • 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
    • 1 Tbsp Tao Jiew (fermented soy bean paste) (Also see Rad Na and Kao Mun Gai videos)
    • ½ Tbsp soy sauce
    • 1 tsp sugar
    • ¼ - ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
    • 2-4 tablespoon water as needed
    • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

    Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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    Instructions

    Mix together oyster sauce, tao jiew, soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper; stir to dissolve the sugar.

    Pound chilies in a mortar until fine. Add garlic and pound just until broken into chunks.

    In a wok, over high heat, add vegetable oil and garlic-chili mixture. Cook until the garlic starts to brown. Add the water spinach and the sauce, then toss until the sauce is well distributed and the water spinach is slightly wilted and heated through. Add a splash of water if it seems too dry. As soon as it’s done, turn off the heat and immediately remove the water spinach from the pan onto a serving plate to stop it from wilting further.

    Serve immediately with jasmine rice or plain congee. Enjoy!

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      Recipe Rating





    1. luke says

      November 08, 2022 at 8:06 pm

      Sorry I forgot to mention in my previous post. If you can't get Thai Morning Glory (water spinach) like me, Bok Choy is a decent substitute. Just steam it first a few minutes to tenderize and thoroughly drain in colander before stir frying and finishing the nice recipe

      Reply
      • Daniel says

        December 22, 2022 at 2:20 pm

        I like to use asparagus instead when I don't have morning glory.

        Reply
    2. Luke says

      November 08, 2022 at 5:28 pm

      I liked this wonderful dish visiting Thailand so much I brought seeds home to grow my own. Little did I know: Illegal to possess, grow, or sell in Florida.

      "Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) is listed both as a federal noxious weed and a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Class I prohibited aquatic plant. Water spinach may be cultured in a nursery regulated by FDACS for the purpose of export outside of Florida only."
      Now I understand why because I learned it is highly invasive to waterways and grows 4 inches per day.

      Reply
      • Pailin Chongchitnant says

        November 21, 2022 at 1:40 pm

        Such a fast grower! Thanks for sharing, and I hope you don't get in trouble for it!

        Reply
        • luke says

          November 22, 2022 at 10:09 am

          Hm..what's in your planters? 🙂

          Reply
          • Pailin Chongchitnant says

            November 24, 2022 at 12:36 pm

            Behind me? Mango tree and those are lemongrass in a glass 🙂

            Reply
    3. Noah says

      September 04, 2022 at 4:45 pm

      I just got back from Thailand last week and had a craving for the pak boong fai dang that I enjoyed on my trip. I tried this recipe, and it turned out great!

      I made a batch for my neighbor and my father-in-law. Both of them loved it. My father-in-law said it’s even better than what he gets at the restaurants back at home in Bangkok. Highly recommended!

      Reply
    4. Futile Resistance says

      December 30, 2020 at 9:56 pm

      Amazing dish right here. It actually cooks in about 30 seconds - and doesn't take long to prep either! For the first (and only) time in the world of HTK you can actually prep and cook the entire dish faster than Pailin's video run time on it. Makes you feel like an absolute beast! And it tastes great too, so win-win. Another rarity - I find Pailin actually under does the garlic quantity (I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

      As an aside, this recipe is great for using up your Tao Jiew if you are forced into buying the 750ml size bottles of the stuff like I am. grrrrrrrr

      Reply
    5. Michael says

      December 08, 2020 at 10:02 am

      Water spinach(called morning glory) fits to most Thai dishes.
      Easy to make but very yummy.
      But be carefull! If the Wok with oil is too hot and the spinach too wet, you can get a fireball in your Wok.(Only if you cook in a gas Wok burner)

      Reply
      • Nirmala says

        May 02, 2022 at 1:17 am

        Loved it! A simple but awesome tasting recipe. Thank you very much, Pailin.

        Reply

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