Ready in under four minutes, Thai stir-fried morning glory (phad pak boong fai daeng) may well be the fastest and easiest Asian food you’ll ever make! Despite its simplicity, this spicy, garlicky street food dish with fermented soya bean sauce will also be one of the tastiest.
Unfortunately, this is not a dish you'll often (if ever) see on the menus of Thai restaurants in the West, which is a shame but I guess it's just not considered 'special' enough.
And, being completely honest, eating street food in a nice, pristine restaurant in Britain completely lacks the atmosphere of sitting on a plastic chair at the side of a busy road in Thailand on a warm evening, watching the world go by. I will never not miss that.
vegan street food at Chiang Mai Gate night market
Vegan phad si ew and 'fish' balls from the jay stall at Chiang Mai Gate night market. Couldn't you just devour it all?
Phad pak boong fai daeng
Although I've eaten stir-fried morning glory all over South East Asia, I first came across it in Thailand when I was living in Mae Hee - a small village, not far from the Burmese border.
(Yes, I know I should call it Myanmar but that’s actually a pretty contentious subject among the Burmese, so I prefer to go with Burma, since it’s what everyone I’ve ever known from there prefers it to be called. #digression)
So anyway, back when I was living in my little bamboo hut on a lake, oftentimes I’d be working out on the veranda in the evening, getting distracted by somersaulting fish, little jingjoks chirruping to each other, lovelorn tokays calling out for a mate, blue crested dragons popping by to say hello...
This was the view from my veranda. You can understand how easy it was to get distracted, right?! The tiny white dot on the mountains (left hand side) is a giant Buddha statue. I always felt he was watching over us all, making sure we were fine!
As I furiously bashed away at my keyboard, my friend, Orn, would come by, and say,
Nico, you work so late - I make you dinner, ka!
And she’d present me with a bowl of sticky rice, and a plate of THE most scrumptious stir-fried morning glory. It was always dressed with my favourite flower, frangipani.
After the fifth or sixth time of making it for me, I finally managed to coax the recipe from her. I was astounded by how simple it is. And how quick too - it takes just a few minutes, and most of that is prep; the actual cooking takes around 90 seconds!
How to make Thai stir-fried morning glory
It’s just a case of breaking up the morning glory, smashing the garlic, slitting the chillies, and then chucking everything into a really hot wok, along with a bit of seasoning. Stir-fry for 90 seconds, and you're done!
In case you’re wondering, phad = fried, pak boong = morning glory (not a literal translation, of course), fai = fire, daeng = red. So basically, morning glory fried over a red-hot fire.
Yes folks, we're heating our woks all the way up to eleven for this!
What is morning glory?
Morning glory, is a hollow-stemmed semi-aquatic plant with long lance-like leaves. It’s used throughout Asia but is perhaps best known by visitors to SE Asia who’ve seen theatrical street vendors cook it, then throw it across the street to be served up to goggled eyed and gasping tourists!
(Video courtesy of Skip Blumberg.)
English names for pak boong (ipomoea aquatica) vary; as well as morning glory (not to be confused with the garden plant of the same name, the seeds of which have hallucinogenic properties), it’s known as water convolvulus, water spinach, river spinach, Chinese spinach, and Chinese watercress.
Plus, no doubt Shrek’s favourite - swamp cabbage.
Morning glory across Asia
Across Asia, pak boong (or phak bung) is known by many names too; in China (Cantonese) it’s ong choi/choy - actually, it’s labelled as such in my local Sri Lankan store, despite it being called kankung in Sinhalese. It’s also called kangkung in Malaysia and Indonesia, and kangkóng in the Philippines. In Mandarin-speaking China, it’s kongxincai, and eng chai in Taiwan.
The Burmese, who often serve it with squid, call it kazun, to the Lao it’s pak boong, as it is in Thailand, while in Vietnam it’s known as rau muống. The Khmer people of Cambodia refer to it as trokuon, and in India it’s called variously; kolmou xak (Assamese), vallal (Tamil), kalmi saag (Hindi), and kalmi shak (Bengali) - to name but a few.
Naturally, dishes which use pak boong abound, and aside from stir-fried morning glory, one of my favourite ways to eat it is in thoran, of which I ate a lot when I lived in Kerala.
By the way, if you live in Florida, Hawaii, California, or Texas, you may be able to find pak boong growing in the wild! If not, it’s easily available in Asian stores and online.
Where does this dish come from?
Stir-fried morning glory originated in China, and then spread throughout the Chinese diaspora in Asia, evolving as it travelled. Although the version I make is Thai, I do actually ditch fish sauce in favour of light soy and Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing). Of course, if you'd rather use vegan fish sauce, then please do (forget the soy sauce and shaoxing, and use 1 tablespoon mai nam pla instead).
Thai Stir-Fried Morning Glory
Is...
- easy
- fast
- packed with vitamins and minerals
- adaptable
- delicious
Use as many or as few chillies as you like (they’re only there for the kick, not to actually eat... unless you want to, of course); use a ton of garlic or a moderate amount; add a little less stock or even none if you prefer a drier dish; serve it with steamed or sticky rice. It’s up to you. Above all though - enjoy!
Gin hai aroi ka!
Have you ever had Thai stir-fried morning glory?
📖 Recipe
Thai Stir-Fried Morning Glory
Ingredients
- 200 g pak boong (morning glory/water spinach)
- 2 tablespoon vegan oyster sauce (mushroom sauce)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose soy sauce (note 1)
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing rice wine (note 2)
- 1 tablespoon tao jiao (salted/fermented soya bean paste) (note 3)
- 1 teaspoon palm sugar
- 6-8 fat cloves garlic
- 3 red Thai chilli peppers bird's eye chilli
- 1 tablespoon rice bran oil or other neutral-tasting oil
Optional:
- 4 tablespoon vegetable broth (Maggi cubes also work really well for this recipe)
Instructions
- Rinse the pak boong, shake it to remove as much water as possible, and then break the whole lot - stalks an' all - into 5cm (2") lengths. (note 4)
- Put the pak boong onto a plate or in bowl, and pile the vegan oyster sauce, light soy, Shaoxing, tao jiao, and palm sugar on top.
- Smash or pound the garlic (I use a large kruk - a Lao pestle and mortar). (note 5)
- Partially split the chillies lengthways, and bash once or twice to release their oils.
- Place a wok on the hob, and turn the heat up to high. Once it starts to smoke, add the garlic and chillies, and stir-fry for 10 seconds. (note 6)
- Add the pak boong and veggie stock, if using, and continue to stir-fry for another 60 seconds or so, making sure that the greenery is coated in the sauce.
- Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice or sticky rice.
Notes
- My favourite is Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce.
- If you don't have Chinese cooking wine, you can use a tablespoon of dry sherry. At a push, dry white wine would work, and if you absolutely don't have anything else, use a tablespoon of apple juice or cider.
- If you don't have or can't get tao jiao (aka Tauco, Taucu, Taotjo, Tau chu), you can use either a tablespoon of doenjang, or one of miso instead. BTW, peach resin/gum is also called tao jiao (I know not why)... don't use that!
- The traditional way to do this is to pull the leaves from the main stems, then break the stems into pieces; allegedly, the morning glory retains its flavour but I've prepared it like this, and also just by breaking it all up together, and it makes no difference to the taste at all!
- On Amazon.com, kruks are stupidly expensive (they're really cheap here in the UK) but if any of you across the pond want to buy one, Temple of Thai sell them for $27. Kruks are fantastic for making Thai salads (e.g. som tam)
- If you're using an electric or ceramic hob, it will take longer to heat the oil, so you'll want to put the wok on the hob when you start to prep the ingredients.
- Nutritional information doesn't include rice.
- This is also a great way to cook Napa cabbage - just slice thinly, and follow the recipe - no need to do anything different! If you want to use baby bok choy, keep the leaves and stems whole.
- 1 cup = US cup = 240 ml
- 1 tablespoon = US/UK = 15 ml
- 1 fl oz = US = 30 ml
Jennifer
Hi! What can I use in lieu of palm sugar?
Nico
Hi Jennifer, you could use some soft brown sugar instead, or at a push, ordinary granulated sugar. Hope you enjoy the recipe! xx
Rilla Villavicencio
I have just arrived from Thailand and I was looking for this recipe because Stir Morning Glory was my favourite, thanks for the post 🙂
Nico
Excellent - I hope you love it! xx
Claudia
I didn ´t know you lived in Asia. Was it for long? Must have been an interesting time.
I never heard about Morning Glory before, so thanks for introducing. Sounds like something I would love to try <3
Best regards
Claudia
Nico
I did - for almost three years! And yes, it was amazing; I loved every minute of it, and there's not a day goes by when I don't miss Asia (Thailand in particular), and all my friends there.
I hope you do get to try this morning glory recipe... and I hope you love it too! xx
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I just love Thai cooking and all the beautiful flavors and colors it holds!
Nico
Agreed, Rebecca - Thai food is so scrumptious! xx
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins
Oooh I have never heard of Morning Glory before but I love the video of the flaming morning glory. Not sure I could have this in the morning, I'd prefer it for a dinner. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Nico
We have it at all times of the day, TBH, Kirsty but I used to love having it for my first meal of the day from a street cart too! That video is fab, isn't it? Whenever I see things like that, I really wish I'd made more vids myself when I was living in Asia - they'd be so handy for my blog now! xx
Emily
It's amazing how wonderful just a handful of simple ingredients can be. I envy your time in Asia! So cool! I am traveling to Taiwan next January. I can only hope to have the experiences you did! I can't wait to try all your spicy yums - you have quite the recipe collection!
Nico
It never ceases to amaze me, Emily, how so much deliciousness can come from so few ingredients. I love simple cooking like this, don't you?!
That's so cool that you're going to Taiwan next year, how long will you be there? xx
Choclette
What an exciting life you've led. And indeed I can quite see how you might miss living in Thailand. Mari is right, you have a gift for travel writing and staying somewhere for a decent amount of time are the only experiences I'm really interested in hearing about.
When I read the title I was sort of imagining a plate piled high with blue morning glory flowers, but the white frangipani made up for the ever so slight disappointment 😉
Nico
Thanks so much Choclette, it has been something of an adventure! I will never cease to miss Thailand (until I return, of course!). Thank you also for your kind words about my writing, I really appreciate them.
When I first found out that pak boong was also called morning glory, I had similar thoughts but I discovered that the flower, while the same shape as the blue ones we're used to is actually white with a purple centre. And just as beautiful! xx
Nicola
What an interesting post! I’ve never heard of Thai morning glory before, but I really want to try it. You make it sound so appealing in your descriptions and photography!
Nico
Thank you so much, Nicola - I hope you try it soon. If you can't find morning glory, you could use baby bok choy, or even spinach. Let me know how you get on! xx
Corina Blum
This sounds amazing! So tasty and so nutritious and healthy too. Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Nico
I love that it's so full of nutrients, Corina - delicious and good for you! xx
Jacqueline Meldrum
You make a good case, but I am not good at breakfast anyway never mind a savoury breakfast like this. I think I would like to try this for dinner. Love the name.
Nico
Aah, see, I don't like sweet breakfast at all - I just can't get on board with having something which is like dessert for my first meal of the day (whatever time it occurs)! Give me savoury every time.
If I do have breakfast, then this or fried rice are generally my favourites! xx
Jacqueline Meldrum
I like savoury if it is later. I am not great first thing in the morning at all. I wish I was.
Nico
I hear you - my body doesn't really do putting food into it first thing in the morning, either. The exceptions being the morning after a long-haul flight (flying makes me soooo hungry!), and the day after I've recovered from a migraine... but that's probably because when they hit bad, I just can't face food at all, so I have an amount of catching up to do!
When we were staying at K's mum's when we first came back to Britain, I could manage to have breakfast with everyone at 9h (toast and Marmite) only because I'd already done three hours' work before they woke up! 😉
Generally, I don't even begin to feel hungry until 14h-15h though. xx
Mari
I would love this for my breakfast. And lunch. And all day long, pretty please 😉
Another great recipe packed in rich and beautiful story of your travels around the globe... I love to read those because your words always take me along with you. Distant places, new people, beautiful dishes 🙂
Nico
You never fail to make me smile with your kind words, Mari - thank you so much! xx