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!
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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.
- 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!
Stir Fried Water Spinach (morning glory) ผัดผักบุ้ง pad pak boong
- Yield: Serves 2-3
Ingredients
- 150 g water spinach, cut stems into 2-3" pieces, leave the leaves whole
- 5-6 cloves garlic
- 2-3 Thai chilies
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Tao Jiew (fermented soy bean paste) (Also see Rad Na and Kao Mun Gai videos)
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ - ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- 2-4 tablespoon water as needed
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
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We can email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
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!
luke says
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
Daniel says
I like to use asparagus instead when I don't have morning glory.
Luke says
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.
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Such a fast grower! Thanks for sharing, and I hope you don't get in trouble for it!
luke says
Hm..what's in your planters? 🙂
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Behind me? Mango tree and those are lemongrass in a glass 🙂
Noah says
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!
Futile Resistance says
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
Michael says
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)
Nirmala says
Loved it! A simple but awesome tasting recipe. Thank you very much, Pailin.