Read on if you want more information about Water Spinach than most people would want in a lifetime, ha.
Water Spinach
Ipomoea aquatica is most commonly grown in East and Southeast Asia. Because it flourishes naturally in waterways and requires little if any care, it is used extensively in Malay and Chinese cuisine, especially in rural or kampung (village) areas. It has also been introduced to the United States where its high growth rate has caused it to become an environmental problem, especially in Florida and Texas. It has been officially designated by the USDA as a "noxious weed"[2] (the term "noxious" refers to its effect on the environment, not to any toxicity.
The vegetable is a common ingredient in Southeast Asian dishes. In Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, the leaves are usually stir fried with chile pepper, garlic, ginger, dried shrimp paste (belacan/terasi) and other spices. In Penang and Ipoh, it is cooked with cuttlefish and a sweet and spicy sauce. During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore in World War II, the vegetable grew remarkably well and easily in many areas, and become a popular wartime crop.
In Chinese cuisine (Chinese: 空心菜; literally "hollow vegetable") there are numerous ways of preparation, but a simple and quick stir-fry either plain or with minced garlic is probably the most common. In Cantonese, the water spinach is known as 蕹菜 (Jyutping: ung3 coi3, sometimes transliterated as ong choy). In Cantonese cuisine, a popular variation adds fermented bean curd. In Hakka cuisine, yellow bean paste is added, sometimes along with fried shallots. The vegetable is also extremely popular in Taiwan, where it grows well.
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So what were your thoughts about taste and texture of water spinach? Would you use it again?
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Florida (32 years until 2000) and never heard of the stuff unless it's the same as water hyacinths. Interesting stuff, I wonder if our Sunrise Market has it.
Undercooked it will be a little green, in this case it was very difficult to really tell the difference from Baby Spinach. I did NOT use the stems however which are used in stir frys.
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