Water Spinach, Kang Kung Culinary Uses
 The vegetable is a common ingredient in Southeast Asian dishes. In Singapore,
Indonesia and Penang, the leaves are usually stir fried with both Malay and
Chinese seasonings, including chile peppers, garlic, ginger, dried shrimp paste
(belacan) and other spices. In Penang and Ipoh, it is cooked with cuttlefish and
a sweet and spicy sauce. During the Japanese Occupation of Singapore in World
War II, the vegetable grew remarkably well and easily in many areas, and become
a popular wartime crop.
PenangKangkung BlachanIn Chinese cuisine, there are numerous ways of
preparation, but a simple and quick stir-fry either plain or with minced garlic
is probably the most common. In Cantonese cuisine, a popular variation adds
preserved beancurd - a method known in the Mandarin language as furu. In Hakka
cuisine, yellow bean paste is added, sometimes along with fried shallots. The
vegetable is also extremely popular in Taiwan, where it grows well.
In Thailand it is frequently stir fried with oyster sauce and shrimp paste. It
can be eaten raw with Lao green papaya salad.
In Vietnam, it once served as a staple vegetable of the poor (known as 'rau
muống'). In the south, it is cut into thin pieces and eaten with many kinds of
noodles, and used as a garnish as well. Through the course of time, Ipomoea
aquatica has developed into being ingredient for many daily vegetable dishes of
Vietnamese cuisine as a whole.
In the Philippines, it is usually sauteed in cooking oil, onions, garlic,
vinegar, and soy sauce. This dish is called "adobong kangkong". It is also a
common leaf vegetable in sour fish and meat stews like "sinigang". |
