Stir Fried Spinach

My current eating habits has made me comb through my cookbooks of recipes that I have tried and raved but eventually forgotten. Also I dug up old simple recipes that brings out the best in vegetables by virtue of the few ingredients it has. One of them is this stir fry dish from one of my favourite cookbooks Chinese Cooking For Beginners by Huang Su-Huei. It's just spinach, a little water, garlic, and salt. In place of the spinach you can substitute choi sum (Chinese flowering broccoli) or pak choi (pechay) or bok choi (green pechay) or other leafy veggies of your choice. Since the recipe is very basic, the success of this dish lies in the freshness of your spinach and the cooking method. Like in all stir frying, at the start the wok and the oil has to be smoking hot. This is to ensure that the food juices are sealed inside. It is also important not to overcook it. Cooking time of between 3 - 5 minutes is all you need if you maintain the high heat.


Stir Fried Spinach

500 g  spinach
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp oil

1. Mix water, garlic, and salt in a bowl. Make sure that the salt is dissolved in the water.
2. Heat oil in a wok until smoking hot.
3. Put in spinach in the wok. Stir fry in high heat for about 30 seconds.
4. Add in water mixture and stir fry until spinach is limp (about 2 minutes) while maintaining the high heat of the cooker hob. Dish up and serve.