Stir-fried water spinach is a familiar dish in many households. The key to a perfect dish is to stir-fry the vegetable until it is just cooked, absorbing the seasonings, and retaining its attractive green color. It sounds simple, but not everyone can achieve this.
Often, people encounter the issue of their stir-fried water spinach turning yellow or black, making it less appealing.
To address this problem, you need to master these three tips for stir-frying water spinach:
– Blanch the vegetable before stir-frying
First, trim the roots and remove any damaged leaves from the water spinach. Then, wash the vegetable thoroughly and soak it in salted water for a few minutes to disinfect and remove impurities. Make sure to dry the vegetable after washing.
Meanwhile, you can prepare other ingredients for stir-frying, such as peeling and crushing garlic cloves.
Before stir-frying, blanch the water spinach in boiling water. Add a little salt and oil to a pot of water and bring it to a boil. Quickly blanch the vegetable for about 15 seconds. This step helps prevent oxidation and maintains the fresh green color of the water spinach without turning it dark.
– Soak the vegetable in cold water
After blanching, immediately remove the water spinach from the boiling water and soak it in a basin of cold water.
After soaking the vegetable in cold water to cool it down, take it out and gently squeeze out the excess water with your hands.
This step helps retain the flavor, texture, and color of the water spinach, preventing it from overcooking and becoming mushy during stir-frying.
– Season the vegetable before stir-frying
Next, place the water spinach in a large bowl, add a little salt and seasoning powder, and mix well. Seasoning the vegetable beforehand reduces the stir-frying time and prevents it from turning yellow due to prolonged cooking.
Then, heat a wok or a pan, add oil, and sauté the crushed garlic until fragrant. When the garlic becomes aromatic, add the water spinach and stir-fry quickly over high heat for about a minute. Once the vegetable is tender, turn off the heat and serve it on a plate.
Avoid stir-frying the vegetable for too long, as it may turn mushy and darken in color.