Stir-Dried

[madbaker]

This week's Resolution Recipe: Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Chiles and Sichuan Pepper.
"Water spinach is grown in most parts of Sichuan and is usually eaten stir-fried. After cooking it has a wonderfully juicy texture."

7 oz water spinach
5-6 dried chiles
3 Tbsp veg oil
1/2 tsp whole Sichuan pepper
no garlic (Ha! I used... that amount.)
1 tsp sesame oil
salt

Rinse the water spinach, discarding any wilted leaves and coarser stalks, then shake dry. Cut into sections, keeping the stalks and leaves roughly separate. Snip the chiles into small sections, shaking out the seeds.

Heat the veg oil in a wok over high heat. Before the oil gets really hot, add the chiles and stir-fry briefly until aromatic and beginning to darken. Quickly add the Sichuan pepper, stir a couple of times, then tio in the water spinach stalks and stir and toss. When the stalks are hot, add the leaves and continue to stir-fry until everything is piping hot and the leaves have wilted. Season with salt to taste. Turn off the heat, stir in the sesame oil, and then serve.

What worked: It was... edible. Honestly it wasn't bad but it wasn't an enjoyable side dish.

What didn't: The water spinach I bought was quite dry when cooked. So the Sichuan pepper and chile couldn't make up for it and that is really why this was not particularly good.

Will I make it again? "Water spinach is also delicious stir-fried with just garlic and seasoned with a little salt." Maybe I will try again in a different season; the "Tragically Hot" water spinach dish was good so maybe this batch of spinach was just dry and boring.

Comments

[kareina]

I had never heard of water spinach. I would be very surprised if it is available here. Will try to remember its existence when next I am in the big store in the city.