How to distinguish water spinach
Water spinach is known as a familiar food in everyday meals of every family. People can choose water spinach to prepare dishes such as boiled water spinach, stir-fried water spinach, water spinach salad… to make the whole family more delicious.
So how to identify clean water spinach and water spinach with chemicals?
Identify clean water spinach by its external appearance
To know if the water spinach you choose has been sprayed with too many chemicals or not, you need to pay attention to the external appearance of the vegetable.
Avoid choosing water spinach with larger stems than normal, black leaves, and crispy because this type of vegetable usually receives excessive fertilizer or absorbs too many heavy metals.
Water spinach with chemicals is usually easy to crush, although the young shoots are smooth, it takes a long time to cook them until tender. Especially when breaking the stem, there is usually no or very little sap flowing out. Therefore, women need to pay close attention when buying.
Distinguishing clean water spinach by taste, finished product after processing
According to practical experience, water spinach containing stimulants when cooked often has a bitter taste and a dark odor. On the contrary, clean water spinach is very green, crispy, and naturally refreshing.
In addition, some housewives also suggest methods to distinguish clean water spinach and water spinach with chemicals through boiling water. If the vegetable contains a lot of protein, the water will be dark, even if squeezed with lemon, it is still very difficult to turn green like clean vegetables.
The secret to stir-frying “restaurant-style” water spinach
a. Preparing water spinach
– Remove the tough stalks of the water spinach and yellow leaves if any. Depending on your preference, you can cut off some leaves or cut off all the leaves and only take the stems of the water spinach. Then cut into about 5-6 cm lengths.
– Soak the vegetables with a little sea salt, then rinse thoroughly and drain.
b. Making the sauce mixture
Because stir-frying water spinach requires quick action over high heat, it is advised to prepare the sauce mixture in advance to save time on seasoning, which can make the vegetable mushy.
– The common sauce for all stir-fried vegetables can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator for convenience: Mix oyster sauce, sugar, fish sauce, and seasoning with a little water (for one-time use, if making for the whole month, increase the amount of water). Then stir well until completely dissolved and become a smooth mixture. If you like it spicy, you can add chili sauce.
– For water spinach and sweet potato leaves, you can replace oyster sauce with shrimp paste. Stir together with the other ingredients and set aside.
c. Blanching water spinach before stir-frying
This step helps the water spinach become crunchy, yet still vibrant green:
Pour water into a pot and bring to a boil with a pinch of salt and cooking oil (salt helps retain the green color of the vegetables, while cooking oil makes the surface of the leaves smoother). When the water is boiling, quickly add the water spinach (in small batches) and blanch for about 15-20 seconds. Immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water for a few minutes. If there is no ice, you can rinse under cold water. Do not think this step takes time, it actually saves a lot of stir-frying time, especially the cool ice water helps keep the vegetables fresh and crunchy.
d. How to stir-fry water spinach:
– Add cooking oil to a hot pan, add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant. Then turn the heat to high, add the water spinach to the pan and quickly stir-fry, adding the prepared sauce mixture on top. Stir the vegetables evenly to absorb the seasoning and cook evenly for 1-2 minutes depending on the amount of vegetables, taste and adjust the seasoning if desired.
– Turn off the heat, transfer the stir-fried water spinach to a plate, sprinkle with fried garlic on top, and add chili if desired. In some regions, they also add roasted peanuts, crushed peanuts, and crispy fat to make the dish more flavorful and crunchy.
Source: Giaitri.thoibaovhnt
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