Water morning glory, which we call “rau muong” in Vietnamese, is a leafy river vegetable that grows in abundance in Vietnam. It’s even considered as the most seen vegetable in the country, especially in the rural areas. The prized part of the vegetable is the tender shoots whereas most of the leaves are discarded.
People usually boil water morning glory, or stir-fried with garlic. According to Vietnamese traditional gastronomy, chopped garlic complements water spinach well, because of garlic’s earthy chi brings balance to the vegetable’s water chi.
On our food tour, our travelers often asked us how to stir-fried this dish with beef, as they loved the taste of this stir-fried vegetable. Therefore, in this article, we are showing you to we stir fried water morning glory with bee.
INGREDIENTS
Beef Marinade
- 1 lb. (500 gram) beef sirloin
- 2 tsp of chicken stock powder
- 1 tsp of granulated sugar
- ½ tsp of ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp of salt
- 4 garlic cloves
Water Morning Glory
- 3 lbs. (1,5 kg) of water morning glory
- 1 tsp of salt
- 4 tbsp of cooking oil
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 3 tsp of granulated sugar
STEPS
- Slice the 1 lb. of beef sirloin thinly. Be sure to slice against the grain. Mince 4 cloves of garlic.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the beef, 2 tsp of chicken stock powder, 1 tsp of sugar, ½ tsp of ground black pepper, ¼ tsp of salt, and minced garlic. Marinate for 30 minutes.
- Prep the water morning glory by cutting off a bit of the old and rough shoot ends. Remove excess leaves and cut into 4-inch pieces. Separate the shoots and leaves since the leaves cook much more quickly.
- Fill a large skillet halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add 1 tsp of salt. Prepare an iced water bowl.
- Add water morning glory to the boiling water and blanch shoots for 45 seconds. Blanch leaves for 40 seconds. Transfer the shoots and leaves to iced batch to maintain vibrant green color and tenderness. After 2 minutes, remove from ice bath and let dry in a colander.
- Mince 6 garlic cloves. Set aside. In a new large skillet, add 2 tbsp of cooking oil and heat on medium-high. Add minced garlic and stir. Add the beef and cook for about 5 minutes. Do not over cook the beef. In a small bowl, mix together 3 tbsp of oyster sauce and 3 tsp of sugar. Set aside.
- Clean the skillet and add 3 tsp of cooking oil. Heat on high. When the skillet is hot, add the water spinach and oyster sauce mixture. Toss the water morning glory until it’s evenly coated with the sauce mixture.
- Add the beef to wok and slightly toss. Stir until the veggies and beef are evenly coasted with the sauce. Transfer to a serving plate.
There you go. That’s how to stir-fried water morning glory with beef for 4 persons, with just about 15 minutes preparation and cooking. We hope you enjoy your product, and please contact us if there is anything we can help.
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