Water morning glory is a tropical plant which is known as Pak Boong in Thailand. It is a very popular vegetable in Thailand and belongs to the Ipomea Aquatica genre of plants, often referred to as a semiaquatic plant. It is a leafy vegetable enjoyed by the people of Thailand. 

Not only in Thailand but you can find this vegetable in the entire tropical and subtropical regions across the globe. There is no specific information about where this plant originated from but it is considered to be a tropical plant. 

In English, this plant is called the water spinach, water convolvulus. If you check the Southeast Asian region, it is called Chinese Spinach or swamp cabbage. 

There are varieties of recipes for Pak Boong in Thailand among which stir-fried water morning glory is the most popular one. They often use this vegetable in different soups as well. 

How to cook Stir-fried water morning glory?

This is a very simple yet healthy recipe for morning water glory. This dish is mostly enjoyed by the people of Thailand, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian regions. It tastes delicious, especially the sauce. If you visit the Southeast Asian regions, it would cost less than a few dollars and there are multiple variations of the same recipe. It is known as Kangkong in Indonesia and Pad Pak Boong in Thailand. 

Although it is a very popular Thai recipe, you may not find the dish in the Thai restaurants of the Western regions. It is because sourcing water morning glory around the west is pretty hard. So, if you want to have it, you can check the Asian markets and you’ll get surely get it there. 

The dish is very easy to cook at home. The most important or maybe the key ingredient of this recipe is soybean paste. When you start making the dish, do not miss out on priorly heating up the wok or frying pan whatever you’re using. While stir-frying the stems it is necessary to ad ½ tablespoon of soy sauce to them to prevent the blandness of the recipe. 

You have to stir-fry the stems for about 30 seconds in the first place. Then add the leaves and stir for another 10-15 seconds and the dish is done. If you want a thin layer of sauce you can add a splash of water and this is my preference. 

What are the basic ingredients to cook water morning glory?

• 1 large water morning glory (handful)
• Thai chili peppers ( 2-3 fresh)
• Garlic (5-6 cloves)

What are the ingredients for the stir-fry sauce?

• Doenjang or Korean soybean paste (1 tbsp)
• Mirim or Rice wine (1 tbsp)
• Soy sauce (½ tbsp)
• Sugar (½ tbsp)
• Oyster sauce (1 tbsp)

What are the additional ingredients for stir-frying water morning glory?

• Cooking oil (4 tbsp)
• Dash of water

The cooking instruction for stir-fried water morning glory

Wash the leafy vegetable thoroughly and use a strainer to drip off the excess water. Now chop it into finger length. Divide the leafy portion from the stem. Pound the chili pepper and garlic cloves and keep them aside. Now mix the Mirim, soybean paste, Soy sauce, sugar, and oyster together. 

Heat the pan, and add some cooking oil. Once the oil is heated up enough, add the garlic and chili pepper first. Then let the aroma come out from the pepper and garlic and then add the morning glory stems along with the sauce. Stir fry for 30 seconds. Then add the leaves and stir fry for another 15 seconds. Now add the stir-fry sauce and cook for 20 minutes and your stir-fried water morning glory is ready to be served. You can serve it with hot steamed rice. 

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