Veggies may not be everyone's favourite dish - they certainly weren't mine growing up! Growing up in the UK, my husband only ever tolerated vegetables knowing that they were good for him, but never actually enjoyed eating them. However, fast forward a gazillion years later and now he's eating veggies like they're going out of style - and apparently it's because he loves the way we cook veg at home compared to when he was growing up.
The key to enjoying your greens for those that aren't natural veggie lovers is they way they're cooked and seasoned. Sometimes all you need is a little salt. But in the case of one of my favourite veg dishes, you need some garlic and chilli, just enough to knock your socks off.
This dish is usually made with Thai Morning Glory, which is a water spinach and known in Thai as Pak Boong or Kang Kong. The leaves taste and resemble spinach and it has a wonderful crunchy stalk. It's a super simple dish to make and is really quick to prepare and cook, usually only taking 5-10 mins in total. You can substitute the morning glory for another vegetable if you wish!
Ingredients:
1 pack of Morning Glory
2 red chillies (you can use more or less depending on your spice levels)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp cooking oil
Cut the morning glory into 2 inch long pieces and wash thoroughly. Mince the garlic and chillies either by knife, mini food processor, or pestle and mortar.
Heat the oil over high heat in preferably a wok (but frying pan will do also) until the oil is simmering. Add in the garlic and chilli mixture for 30 seconds or until its fragrant (be careful not to burn!). Now add the vegetables and mix together with the garlic and chilli. Let the veg cook for another 30 seconds. Add the oyster sauce and sugar, and stir fry together until combined. Now add the fish sauce and continue stir frying for a further minute. The leaves should be wilted, but the stalks still have a slight crunch. Your veg is now ready to be served!
You can serve this as a side dish alongside my steamed fish dish (recipe here), or one of the the FAKE-away dishes (chicken and broccoli, pad gra prow - recipes linked). Or have it as your main with noodles or rice!
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