This simple refreshing Vietnamese water spinach and garlic stir fry is packed full of flavor yet is so easy and simple to make. It’s going to be an instant hit with your friends and family!

Featured image of Vietnamese water spinach stir fry with garlic

What Is Water Spinach?

Water spinach also known as morning glory, rau muống in Vietnamese, ong choy & tong choy/tung choi in Cantonese is a semi-aquatic plant grown in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia. The plant is grown in water or moist soil.

Water spinach is known for its long green leaves and it’s long hollow crunchy stems that produce an incredible crunch in dishes.

Morning glory is traditionally stir-fried as a side dish in a lot of Asian recipes such as Vietnamese morning glory stir fry with garlic (rau muống xào tỏi), Chinese water spinach stir fry with fermented bean curd, and Thai style morning glory stir fry.

According to the USDA, there is only 19 calories (kcal) per 100g of water spinach, making water spinach an excellent low-calorie food choice. Whenever I’m trying to slim down, I like to cook up some stir-fried morning glory recipes to include in my diet. Not only are they low in calories, but they also taste great!

Where to Buy Water Spinach/Rau Muống?

Water spinach is typically sold at Asian grocery stores. If you can’t find it then it might be labeled something else like Morning Glory, ong choy, tong choy, or tung choi.

When I went to my local Asian grocery store I wasn’t able to locate it at first until I asked a Vietnamese cashier if she knew whether they sold rau muống at the supermarket. She then went off leaving me stranded, confused, and standing in line at the cashier’s lane, only to re-emerge a few minutes later with a bag of leafy vegetables. I glanced at the bag and it was labeled tong choy.

She said this was rau muống, even though it was labeled tong choy. I inspected the leafy greens and sure enough, it was indeed water spinach.

So if you can’t find it be sure to ask the staff members or better yet just show them a picture on your phone.

How to Select Water Spinach/Morning Glory at the Supermarket?

When selecting water spinach, try to look for ones that don’t have any blemishes on the leaves and stems or any wilted leaves.

The leaves should be nice and vibrant or have a dark green tone to them. This indicates that the water spinach is still fresh.

Also, try pinching the stems and see if you hear a crunch. Fresh morning glory should be somewhat tender and produce a crunching sound when pinched.

What Is Vietnamese Water Spinach Stir Fry With Garlic?

Vietnamese stir-fried water spinach with garlic or Vietnamese morning glory stir fry with garlic (rau muống xào tỏi) is a very popular Vietnamese vegetable dish that you’ll often see being served at Vietnamese restaurants and street stalls in Vietnam.

When I was in Vietnam, I couldn’t go a day without seeing someone chomping down on a plate of stir-fried morning glory with garlic on the streets. This was then followed by loud talking sounds or even singing in some cases (yes karaoke is very popular in Vietnam 🎤🤣).

Now in addition to water spinach being stir-fried with garlic, you’ll oftentimes see other variations of this dish as well such as Vietnamese water spinach stir-fried with beef or razor clams. It’s actually quite a popular snack to enjoy while out drinking with friends known as đi nhậu in Vietnamese.

This dish consists of water spinach that is first blanched and then stir-fried with garlic, along with some fish sauce and other condiments to produce a crunchy and flavorful Vietnamese dish.

Vietnamese Morning Glory stir fry with garlic is an easy, fast, and delicious Vietnamese dish that anyone can make at home! Here’s what you’ll need to make it.

Ingredients

350g of water spinach
4-5 cloves of minced garlic
2 tsp of fish sauce
1 tsp of chicken powder
1-2 Tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tsp of white granulated sugar
3 cloves of crushed garlic

Ingredient Notes

Water spinach: For this recipe, I used green water spinach. There is also a white type of water spinach which you’ll see used a lot more in Chinese recipes. When selecting water spinach make sure to select ones without any blemishes.

Fish sauce: I used the Thai brand called squid brand for my fish sauce, which is more pungent and saltier compared to Vietnamese fish sauce. It’s also readily available and cheap too! My family prefers this brand of fish sauce for cooking and I grew up eating this brand so I stuck with this brand. However, if you’re using Vietnamese fish sauce which tends to be not as salty as Squid brand, then you will need to adjust the amount of fish sauce you add to the dish (most likely more). A popular brand of Vietnamese fish sauce is 3 crabs.

Squid Brand Fish Sauce

Substitutions

Water spinach: You can substitute the green water spinach that I used with the white version. If you can’t find water spinach then you can try substituting it with something with a bit of crunch to it like yu choy but of course, don’t expect to get the same crunch and texture if you do!

How to Make Vietnamese Water Spinach Stir Fry With Garlic

Preparing the Vegetables:

Start by making a small cut at the end of the stem of the water spinach and discard this.

Bottom of stems of water spinach — Cut off a tiny bit of the end of the stem

Now cut and divide the water spinach into 3-4 sections approximately 3-4 inches in length.

Optional step: Trim off some of the leaves of the water spinach. Some people like to have more crunch in their water spinach dish and therefore prefer to have fewer leaves and more stems in the dish.

Now wash the water spinach thoroughly in cold water and then let it soak in cold water while you bring a pot of water to a boil.

While waiting for the pot to boil, mince your cloves of garlic and set it aside.
Finally, crush 3 cloves of garlic and set it aside as well.

Blanching the Water Spinach:

When the pot of water comes to a boil, add about a tsp of table salt along with a Tbsp of cooking oil to the pot. Give it a quick mix and then add in your water spinach to the pot of boiling water. The salt and cooking oil will help the water spinach retain its nice vibrant green color.

Adding water spinach to pot of hot water

Blanch the water spinach for roughly around 2 minutes and then immediately remove it from the pot and put the water spinach in an ice bath (ice cubes + water) or under cold running water for about 15 seconds. Then let it strain on a basket and dry out.

Preparing the Sauce:

In a small bowl add your oyster sauce, chicken powder, white granulated sugar, and fish sauce. Mix everything well together and set it aside.

Cooking the Water Spinach:

Heat up a wok over medium-low heat and then add in your cooking oil and evenly distribute the oil around the wok.
Once the oil starts to shimmer and has become hot, add in your minced garlic and stir-fry this for about 15-20 seconds before adding in your water spinach to the wok.

Immediately turn up the heat to medium-high and stir fry everything for about 30 seconds.
Now add in your sauce and stir-fry everything together for another 30 seconds.

Finally, add your crushed garlic to the wok and stir-fry for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute before transferring everything to a plate or bowl.

Serve the dish while it’s still hot for best results.

Optional: Dipping sauce (nước chấm):

This recipe has already been seasoned properly, however, some of you may also want to dip it in some sauce, therefore, I have provided a very basic Vietnamese dipping sauce.

In a small bowl, add 2-3 Tbsp of fish sauce, 3 Tbsp of white granulated sugar, 1-2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 minced Thai chili pepper (optional), and 1/2 cup of distilled/filtered water (120ml). Mix everything well together then add in half a wedge of lime juice as well. Mix everything well together until the sugar has fully dissolved. You can also modify the ratios in the dipping sauce to suit your own taste such as adding in or reducing the amount of fish sauce, sugar, and water.

Bonus Optional Soup Recipe:

Water spinach soup (canh rau muống):

After blanching the water spinach, don’t discard the water. Instead, the water can be turned into a soup/broth. Simply add about 1-2 tsp of lime juice along with 1-2 tsp of chicken powder and salt and pepper to the water and now you have some water spinach soup. You can adjust how much salt and pepper to add to the soup based on your own personal preference.

The lime will help prevent the water from turning green.

Water spinach broth turned green — Water turns green if you don’t add in lime juice

Combine this dish with the soup and some white rice and now you have a complete meal 😉.

Tips

Add in a little bit of cooking oil and salt to the pot of boiling water when blanching the water spinach. This will help it retain its vibrant green colors.
Cook the water spinach on medium-high to high heat. This will help prevent excess water from coming out of the water spinach and help it retain its crunch.
Some people claim that instead of chopping the water spinach into sections if you use your hands and break off the stems it will taste better. I personally didn’t notice too much of a difference however you can give this a try and see if it improves the taste.
Don’t throw away the water that was used to blanch the water spinach. This can be turned into a soup/broth.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

Overblanching and overcooking the water spinach leads to the leaves and stems becoming overly soft.
Not cooking the water spinach on high heat, leads to excess water coming out of the water spinach.

Storage Tips

Morning glory stir fry with garlic can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Side Dishes:

Morning glory with garlic stir fry is traditionally eaten together with white rice, along with other side dishes such as Vietnamese braised pork belly and eggs (thịt kho tàu) and a soup such as stuffed bitter melon soup.

Other side dishes that go great with rau muống xào tỏi include:

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.S)

Where to Buy Morning Glory?

Morning Glory is typically available at most Asian grocery stores in the vegetable section. If you cannot locate them then try looking for one of their alternative names such as water spinach, tong choy, tung choi, ong choy, and rau muống.

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