Sides & Vegetables · Southeast Asian
Stir-fried Morning Glory
Cook Now190kcal6.8g protein14.2g fat13g carbs~$2.08/ serving*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
PescatarianNo porkNo alcohol
Contains: gluten, soy, shellfish, fish
Ingredients
Servings:
| 1 lb | morning glory (cut into 3-inch lengths, stems and leaves separated) |
| 5 clove | garlic (roughly smashed and coarsely chopped) |
| 3 unit | red thai chilis (bruised, halved lengthwise) |
| 2 tbsp | vegetable oil |
| 1 tbsp | oyster sauce |
| 2 tsp | fish sauce |
| 1 tsp | sugar |
| 1 tbsp | water |
| 1 tbsp | fermented bean curd (mashed)optional |
| ½ tsp | shrimp pasteoptional |
| 1 tsp | soy sauceoptional |
| 1 unit | lime (wedges)optional |
Method
- prep6 mindrymorning glory washed, then dried hard in a towel or spinner, and cut into lengths with the hollow stems piled separately from the leaves — surface water is the enemy here, every drop that enters the pan spends heat turning to steam that should have gone into browning, and the stems need a 45-second head start because the leaves collapse almost instantly
- mix1 minoyster sauce + fish sauce + sugar + water in one small bowl = sauce, premixed because there is no time to measure once the pan is going, and the tablespoon of water is deliberate — it lets the sauce spread over the whole mass in the two seconds before it evaporates instead of scorching in one spot
- saute1 minhighest heat, oil shimmering and just beginning to smokevegetable oil + garlic + thai chilis, swirled for about 20 seconds until the garlic edges turn pale gold — go past gold and the garlic turns bitter, and it will keep cooking in the residual oil, so move on while it looks slightly underdone
- char1 minhighest heat, pan uncovered, minimal stirring+ morning glory stems in one layer, left still for 30 to 40 seconds before the first toss — the contact time is what puts blistered brown spots on the stems, and stirring constantly is the classic error: it keeps any single piece from ever sitting long enough to exceed 100°C at the surface, so you get boiled greens in a hot pan
- saute1 minhighest heat+ leaves, tossed hard and continuously for 30 seconds until they slump to about a third of their volume but still show green at the ribs — the leaf is nearly all water and cell wall, and once the cell walls rupture the chlorophyll goes olive and the texture goes to slime, which is a change of about 20 seconds
- mix1 minhighest heat, then off+ sauce poured around the hot rim of the pan rather than onto the greens, so it hits metal and vaporizes into the food instead of puddling — two tosses, then out of the pan immediately onto a wide plate, because greens left heaped in a hot wok keep steaming themselves and arrive at the table grey