Stir-fried water spinach, also known as Kangkung Belacan is a common dish you will find in South East Asia that is perfect for a side or a main. Sometimes referred as the morning glory by the locals in Malaysia, this vegetable is amazing when combined with a spicy and seafood flavour. Kangkung belacan is so easy to make that it takes only 10 minutes to cook. Oh, just a word of cautious, the smell is quite pungent and can be recognised from a good distance away.
Wash the vegetable thoroughly. Slice them to about 3.5 inches in length and separate the stems and leaves.
Heat up a wok and add shrimp paste in it. Toast it until the shrimp paste and the wok starts to smoke before adding in the oil and dried shrimps. Keep stir frying while maintaining a high heat.
Add the stems of the vegetable and Mak Tok’s Fire Chilli Paste. Stir well. When the stems start to soften, add the leaves and water. Continue to stir-fry for 1 minute on high heat.
Plate your kangkung belacan and serve hot with a bowl of plain white rice.
Recipe Video
Recipe Note
Top tip: Spring green or spinach is a good substitute if you cannot get hold of morning glory from your Asian grocers.
