Stir Fried Morning Glory

Name: Stir Fried Morning Glory
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 8 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 1 large bunch Water morning glory cleaned, cut into 4-inch pieces, leafy tops left a little longer; 4-5 Thai hot chilies split open slightly to release juices, left whole; 3-4 Garlic, large cloves broken into small pieces; 2 teaspoons Yellow soybean paste; 2 teaspoons Light soy sauce; 2 teaspoons Oyster sauce; 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon Vegetable oil

Pad Pak Boong Fai Daeng

Fast-fried water morning glory with garlic, chili, and soybean paste

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 3 min
Serves: 4
Heat: hot

This dish moves fast — so fast that the trick is assembling everything in a bowl beforehand and tipping it all into the hot pan at once, sauces first, rather than adding ingredients one at a time. The whole thing cooks in about a minute, just long enough for the leaves to wilt while the crunchy stalks stay firm. Yellow soybean paste, garlic, and whole split chilies give the dish a salty, funky depth that's balanced by soy sauce and oyster sauce, making it a favorite quick vegetable side across Thailand even though it rarely shows up on menus abroad.

Ingredients

1 large bunch Water morning glory (cleaned, cut into 4-inch pieces, leafy tops left a little longer)
4-5 Thai hot chilies (split open slightly to release juices, left whole)
3-4 Garlic, large cloves (broken into small pieces)
2 teaspoons Yellow soybean paste
2 teaspoons Light soy sauce
2 teaspoons Oyster sauce
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon Vegetable oil

Directions

Clean the morning glory and cut into 4-inch pieces. Crush or break up the garlic. Split the chilies open slightly without cutting them fully apart.
Put the morning glory in a bowl and pile the garlic, chili, soybean paste, soy sauce, and oyster sauce on top.
Heat the oil in a wok until very hot but not smoking. Tip the whole bowl into the pan upside down, so the sauces land on the bottom. Stir quickly to cook everything evenly.
Cook for only about a minute — the larger leaves should wilt while the stalks stay crisp. Don't leave it on the heat any longer than that.
Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Notes

Assemble everything in a bowl first, then flip it into the hot oil all at once so the sauces hit the pan before the vegetable — the whole dish cooks in under a minute, leaving no time to add ingredients one at a time.

Substitutions

Regular spinach makes a good substitute if water morning glory isn't available — it looks similar and has a comparable flavor, though it cooks down faster.