Upgrade to "stir-fried water spinach with garlic"

Stir-fried morning glory with garlic was ranked among the 100 best stir-fried dishes in the world by Taste Atlas culinary magazine.

There are 5 Vietnamese stir-fried dishes listed in the list of 100 best stir-fried dishes in the world by the culinary magazine Taste Atlas (headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria). These include: stir-fried water spinach with garlic, stir-fried pho, stir-fried vermicelli with crab, stir-fried chayote with garlic, and stir-fried snails.

"National dish"

Water spinach has become a “national dish” for Vietnamese people, due to its popularity in raw materials, its uncomplicated preparation, and its special “deliciousness when cooked by anyone”. In my mind, the dishes my mother cooked from water spinach during the difficult kitchen times still linger in my memory, even when I go to the city or sit in a fancy restaurant, the taste still lingers on my tongue.

In the countryside, every house has a large garden, and every house has a patch of water spinach to eat all year round. During the hot season, my mother often asked me to take a basket out to the garden to cut water spinach, pick it, and wash it.

Place pot of water on wood stove, wait for water to boil, sprinkle in some salt, add water spinach and boil until cooked, remove from heat and place in basket. Season the vegetable water to taste.

A plate of boiled morning glory with a bowl of fish sauce, chili, and garlic, and a bowl of vegetable juice with a squeeze of lemon, all helped to cool down the heat of the summer afternoon. In the past, life was still difficult, and every day my mother would carry a few dozen squash or bitter melons to the market, and then add a little pork to the meal. Using the fat, my mother would always make stir-fried morning glory with garlic.

Mom said, stir-fried water spinach looks simple but there are a few ways to make it taste different. If you like it crispy and sweet, stir-fry it directly in a pan of pork fat over high heat; if you like it soft and sweet, blanch it in boiling water before stir-frying. For me, the crispy water spinach stalks, fragrant with the fatty smell of Ly Son garlic fried with a little bit of local pork fat are already delicious.

A gift of love

It is no coincidence that the culinary magazine Taste Atlas chose water spinach in the list of the world's best stir-fried dishes. This magazine introduces: Stir-fried water spinach with garlic is a traditional Vietnamese dish. To prepare it, people blanch the water spinach in hot water, then stir-fry it with spices.

Morning glory is featured in a delicious specialty dish of Quang Nam - cassava rice paper rolls with morning glory and mackerel dipped in fish sauce. Photo: XH

Fish sauce is added near the end of the cooking process. Stir-fried morning glory with garlic is an important part of the Vietnamese three-course meal: stir-fried, boiled, and soup. Stir-fried morning glory with garlic is best eaten hot and is a great accompaniment to white rice.

This assessment shows that water spinach has become a popular yet unique element in Vietnamese culinary culture. Perhaps, the element of “easy to find, easy to cook, anyone can cook it well” has affirmed the position of water spinach on the culinary map of the homeland.

No need to look far, it is the “mother chef” who brought water spinach into every child’s childhood. So that no matter how far away they go, the scent of memories still clings to their return. Sitting at the dining table, touching chopsticks wherever they go, the green water spinach shoots spread nostalgia. Stir-fried water spinach with garlic. Boiled water spinach with fish sauce. Mixed water spinach salad. Water spinach cooked with shrimp soup. Water spinach cooked with clams…

Morning glory is not only a delicious dish but also a gift of love. Because in the life of a woman going to the market, there must be a day when she has to plan ahead and look behind to make sure her meal is just right. And there is nothing as delicious and cheap as morning glory.

Not only in the countryside, water spinach is also present on the balcony, sidewalk in Styrofoam boxes. The homeowner, because of missing the taste of the countryside, planted some greenery in the city. One day when going to the market and buying some sea mackerel, he would immediately make a dish of mackerel wrapped in rice paper with water spinach.

In recent days, everyone has been talking about stir-fried water spinach with garlic, which is listed among the top stir-fried dishes in the world. But for a long time, this simple vegetable has always been present in the Vietnamese diet. And more than 500 years ago, Uc Trai Nguyen Trai in “Thuật hận bài 24” also had his own pond of water spinach for a simple meal: “The shallow pond collects duckweed to plant water spinach/ The clear pond clears grass to grow lotus”…

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/len-hang-rau-muong-xao-toi-3139367.html