Vietnam's everyday green vegetable side: water spinach snapped into lengths and flash stir-fried with a generous amount of garlic, fish sauce and a touch of sugar. The hollow stems stay crisp and crunchy while the leaves wilt to silk, all glossed with garlicky oil.
A nationwide home-cooking staple that anchors the Vietnamese rice table; rau muong is so common it is sometimes called the national vegetable. Garlic and fish sauce are the unvarying soul of the dish.
The stems crunch and snap, the leaves are tender and slick, and the whole thing is perfumed with toasted garlic. Salty fish sauce and a hint of sweetness make it the perfect foil to grilled meats and rice.
Blasting high heat for a very short time wilts the leaves while keeping the hollow stems crisp and bright green by setting chlorophyll before it degrades. A splash of water creates steam to cook stems evenly.
Variations
Rau muong xao toi with beef or with fermented bean curd (chao); sometimes finished with oyster sauce
On the Palate
Where Rau Muong Xao Toi sits in the Vietnamese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 10 min
- 15 min
Snap the water spinach into finger-length pieces and wash well.
- 21 min
Separate the thicker stems from the tender leaves.
- 32 min
Smash and roughly chop a generous amount of garlic.
- 41 min
Heat a wok very hot, add oil, and sizzle most of the garlic until fragrant.
Watch outGet the wok smoking-hot before the garlic goes in — a cool wok stews the greens grey instead of searing them bright.
- 51 min
Add the stems first and stir-fry briefly over high heat.
Watch outStems go in first and get a head start — they need longer than the leaves, add everything together and the stems stay raw and squeaky.
- 61 min
Add the leaves and toss quickly so they wilt but stay green.
Watch outToss the leaves just until they collapse and turn glossy green, then off the heat — a few seconds too long and they yellow.
- 71 min
Season with fish sauce, a pinch of sugar and a splash of water for steam.
- 81 min
Toss in the reserved raw garlic off the heat and serve immediately.
