The dish is known by many names includingtumis kangkung orcah kangkung in Indonesia;kangkong goreng in Malaysia;ginisang kangkóng oradobong kangkóng in the Philippines;pad pakboong (ผัดผักบุ้ง) in Thai;rau muống xào in Vietnam; stir frykong xin cai (空心菜) in Mandarin (China); stir frytung choy orong choy (通菜) in Cantonese (China);khteah tuk chien cha (ខ្ទះទឹកចៀនឆា) in Khmer (Cambodia);gazun ywet kyaw (ကန်စွန်းရွက်ကြော် ) inBurmese,[3]kankunmallung in Sri Lanka;kolmi shak bhaja in Bangladesh and eastern India.[4]
Stir-fried water spinach is one of the simplest, easiest, and also cheapest vegetable dishes in Asia, which contributes to its popularity. Water spinach thrives in the waterways, rivers, lakes and swamps of tropical Southeast Asia and Southern China. The garlic and shallots or onion are stir-fried in cooking oil, then the cleaned and cut water spinach are added, stir-fried in awok on a strong heat source with a small amount of cooking oil. The stir-frying lightly caramelises the vegetables. The seasoning sauce is added according to each preference and recipe. Some might add slices of red hot chili pepper for spicy tanginess, while fresh ordried shrimp might be added for flavour. Other recipes might add dicedtofu.
The stir-fried water spinach might vary according to its seasonings. A stir-fried water spinach could be lightly seasoned in garlic,black pepper,fish sauce,soy sauce,oyster sauce, or in spicy chili pepper,tauco (fermented soybean paste),shrimp paste or other sauce.
The Vietnamese version use either fish sauce or oyster sauce for seasoning, while the Indonesian and Malaysian version seems to favour shrimp paste.[2] The Filipino version often uses a soy sauce-vinegar seasoning mix, reminiscent of thePhilippine adobo seasoning; with versions that also use shrimp paste, fish sauce, orfermented fish. The Southern Chinese recipe might favour oyster sauce or fermented tofu (腐乳) seasoning. In West Java, theChinese Indonesian version however, favours the use oftauco fermented soybeans paste as seasoning.[5] InBurmese cuisine, stir-fried water spinach is typically fried with diced mushrooms, garlic, onions, and fresh chilies, and seasoned with oyster sauce, chicken stock, sesame oil, and salt.[3][6]
A specific preparation of water spinach stir-fried withshrimp paste (belacan inMalay;terasi inIndonesian; andbagoong alamang in Filipino) is calledkangkung belacan orkangkong belacan in Malaysia and Singapore,cah kangkung terasi in Indonesia, andbinagoongang kangkóng in the Philippines.[7][8][9] It is a popular vegetable dish inMaritime Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, the shrimp paste can also be replaced withbagoong isda (fermented fish) orpatis (fish sauce) and is commonly served with deep-fried pork belly (lechon kawali).[10]
