Name: Stir-Fried Chinese Greens
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 2 cups Chinese leafy greens (such as sweet potato leaves, pea shoots, and water spinach); 1 Tbsp. neutral oil; 1 or 2 pieces dried chile pepper; 1 Tbsp. minced garlic; 1 tsp. minced ginger; 1 tsp. fish sauce; 1 tsp. soy sauce; 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Stirfried chinese greens with chiles in a bowl.

Photo by Yudi Ela Echevarria

I’ve always found the diversity and range of Chinese greens to be vastly superior to Western greens, and it continues to surprise me how few of them are available outside of Asian markets, especially when the preparation for almost all of them is as simple as a stir-fry. Some of my favorites include morning glory (also known as water spinach), snow pea shoots, sweet potato leaves, and Malabar spinach. The Chinese even stir-fry iceberg lettuce, and trust me, it is delicious. The most basic cooking style is stir-frying, usually with ginger and garlic, done quickly over high heat in a wok, so that the vegetables are cooked through but remain bright green in color. You can also blanch and serve the greens with oyster sauce, which generally works better on vegetables with heartier stems such as bok choy and gai lan. Another way to consume these greens is in broth. I love dipping leafy greens into my hot pot or adding them to congee. Vegetables like chrysanthemum greens and red amaranth work especially well here. The recipe below is for a simple stir-fry. I love the umami that fish sauce adds, but you can omit it for a vegan version.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp’ by Jing Gao. Buy the full book on Amazon.

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What you’ll need

Fish Sauce
$20 At Amazon
Facing Heaven Chiles
$12 At The Mala Market
Soy Sauce
$14 At Amazon
Toasted Sesame Oil
$9 At Amazon

Recipe information

Yield
Serves 2

Ingredients

2 cups Chinese leafy greens (such as sweet potato leaves, pea shoots, and water spinach)

1 Tbsp. neutral oil

1 or 2 pieces dried chile pepper

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. minced ginger

1 tsp. fish sauce

1 tsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

Preparation

Step 1
To prepare the greens: Soak the greens in a big bowl of water and wash well to remove any dirt from the leaves. Depending on the type of greens you’re using, if needed, cut them into smaller pieces and trim any dry, tough stem ends.
Step 2
In a wok or frying pan over high heat, warm the oil until almost smoking. Add the chile pepper, garlic, and ginger and stir-fry quickly for 30 seconds. Add the greens and stir-fry for about 1 minute, until cooked but still green.
Step 3
Add the fish sauce and soy sauce and stir to ensure the ingredients are thoroughly seasoned. Stir in the sesame oil at the very end, remove the wok from the heat, transfer the vegetables to a platter, and serve immediately.