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Thai Spinach with Black Pepper and Garlic
This
is my version of the classic Thai dish,
pahk
boong fai daeng, made with pahk boong, a leafy,
hollow-stemmed Asian vegetable known as water spinach. In Thailand,
pahk boong is fried over such a hot fire that flames leap out
of the wok as the chef toss the greens. My home version will give
you most of the fantastic flavor without the unwieldy fire, using
a sack of prepared spinach from your grocery store produce
section. Forget how health-full spinach is for us – make this just
because it tastes so good.
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2
tablespoons vegetable oiil
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1
tablespoon coarsely chopped garlic
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8 to
10 cups loosely packed fresh spinach leaves (about 20 ounces)
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2
tablespoons fish sauce, or 1 teaspoon salt
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2
teaspoons sugar
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1/2
teaspoon black pepper or white pepper
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1/4
cup water
Heat
the oil in a large, deep skillet or a wok over medium-high heat
for about 1 minute, and then add the garlic. Toss well and add the
spinach. Gently turn the pile of spinach to heat most of the
leaves. (Add it in 2 or 3 batches if your pan won’t hold all the
leaves at first). Add the fish sauce or salt,the sugar, pepper and
water. Toss well, and then cook, turning often, until the spinach
is barely wilted and tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn out onto a deep
platter, sauce and all, and serve hot, warm or at room
temperature.
Serves
4. |
