How To Make Chinese Morning Glory With Fermented Bean Curd
Aug 2nd, 2009 by admin
Stir-fried Chinese morning glory with fermented bean curd is one of my all time favourite dishes. I’ve been enjoying it ever since I was a young teenager, regularly ordering it in Cantonese restaurants. Strangely enough, my mother never made it at home, even though there was usually a jar of fermented bean curd sitting in the fridge. So for me, this has always been a restaurant dish, until I recently decided to make it at home.
In Cantonese, we call this distinct-looking vegetable ong choi or tong choi (tongcai in Mandarin). It’s also referred to as morning glory or Chinese water spinach. Tong choi literally means ‘hollow vegetable’, which is an accurate description as the long stems are hollow, while the leaves resemble arrow tips. When cooked, you experience an interesting combination of textures, as the stems will still be crunchy, while the leaves will be soft. I bought a bag of fresh tong choi from New Loon Moon supermarket on Gerrard Street in Chinatown – £3.20 for 500g. I’m not sure whether this is considered expensive or not, but Chinese vegetables always seem to be rather pricey, particularly the ones that are air-freighted into the UK (I couldn’t tell from the packaging of my tong choi where it was grown).
From my regular See Woo supermarket on Lisle Street, I bought a jar of fermented bean curd with chilli for £1.85. There are three versions – standard, chilli and red (the latter is known as lam yue in Cantonese). I used to only eat the standard version, but I thought the chilli version would give the tong choi an extra kick. Fermented bean curd is delicious as an accompaniment to rice and I also like it with congee and noodles.
It comes in small cubes preserved in a glass jar. All you do is scoop out a couple (or more!) of cubes and place them on top of the rice, congee or noodles, breaking off a little with your chopsticks as you eat. It’s soft in texture, has a unique tangy flavour that I can’t really describe and may not be to everyone’s taste (like Marmite and thousand year old egg), but I love it. The husband didn’t think he would like it ’straight’, but loved it cooked with the tong choi. Once opened, it’s best stored in the fridge, but because it’s fermented, it will keep for a long time. You’ll note I don’t specify how long, because no jar has ever lasted more than a month in my fridge!
I used Ken Hom’s recipe from his The Taste of China, but added a couple of ingredients from Yan-Kit So’s Classic Chinese Cookbook, which I think are essential. The result was superb and I have to say, this was one of the most successful dishes I’ve ever replicated at home. I love the way tong choi just catches the sauce in its stems and leaves. I’m now also looking forward to adding fermented bean curd to other stir-fried vegetables. If you don’t like spicy food, all you have to do is use the standard or plain fermented bean curd and omit the fresh chilli. After cooking this, I spoke to my mother, who suggested adding some slices of fresh ginger along with the garlic and chilli. I shall try it next time!
Ingredients: (serves 4 as part of a meal or 2 as a single dish)
- 700-900g / 1½-2lb tong choi
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- 3 tbsp fermented bean curd – chilli or plain
- 2 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry (Yan Kit-So uses Shaoxing, and so did I)
- 3 tbsp water
- 4 or 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (additional ingredient from Yan-Kit So)
- ½ fresh red chilli, de-seeded & finely chopped (additional ingredient from Yan-Kit So)
What to do next:
Wash the tong choi and drain. Cut off 5cm/2in from the bottom of the stem, which tends to be tough. I cut off a little more than this. Cut the rest of the spinach into 10cm/4in segments.
Heat a wok or large frying pan until hot and add the oil. Then add the garlic and chilli and fry for about a minute, before adding the fermented bean curd, mashing it up with your cooking utensil. Add the tong choi and stir-fry for 2 minutes. I added the stems and cooked them first before adding the leaves, as the stems take longer to cook. They should be crunchy but cooked through when ready to serve.
Add the rice wine and water and continue to cook for another 3 minutes, tossing and stirring constantly. Serve immediately!
This dish can be served as part of a three or four dish meal with steamed jasmine rice. We ate it as a main dish with rice for a simple healthy lunch.
Have you tried fermented bean curd? What do you think?!
Have a look at the other Chinese recipes on World Foodie Guide.
Hi there Helen, this is also one of my favourite veggie dishes. Yum!
You may think I am weird, but I spread the chili fermented bean curd on white bread. I LOVE IT!!!! If you do try it, tell me what you think:)
Raymond Reply:
November 1st, 2009 at 3:44 pm
@Chee Packer,
Wow, I found someone else who loves this stuff on sandwiches. Whenever I eat this I alway offer to others and the usual response is they turn green and purple and look like they will vomit. Definitely an acquired taste.
i love fermented bean curd as a condiment for congee….. !
I’ve never had morning glory with fermented bean curd as I always have this with belacan! Sounds like a nice change!
White fermented beancurd is great stuff, I love stir-frying vegetables in it. I’ve got the same stuff as you, the chilli one.
Red fermented beancurd, however, smells like someone died. Urgh!
Wonderful stuff, I always order ong choi in restaurants and it’s good to have a recipe that clearly works. Your advice about the fermented bean curd is really helpful too, thanks!
This looks delicious. Morning glory (kang kung) is also one of my fave vegies.. stir fried with belachan!
KennyT – isn’t it just perfect? Now that I have my jar of fermented bean curd, I’ll be adding it to all my vegetables!
Chee – really?! I’ve not tried that before, but now that you’ve mentioned it, perhaps on a piece of toast?! I’ll give it a go…
penny – it’s great with congee!
pigpigscorner – I’ve only had morning glory with belacan really recently, a couple of times. I’m a fermented bean curd girl. Try it!
Lizzie – I like the chilli one now! Is the red one called lam yu or something like that? I’ve not cooked with it before…
Gastrogeek – oh you’re welcome! This really tasted like the restaurant versions I’ve had, but fresher and cleaner (possibly because of the lack of MSG?).
catty – you’re a belachan fan too!
Helen Yuet Ling
I have not tried fermented bean curd yet, but I think you have convinced me. I have to thank you for being such a positive influence on my exercise regime. After reading many of your posts, I feel compelled to march to the Asian market and pick up ingredients to replicate the wonderful dishes you describe here.
I haven’t tried the standard or chilli versions, but I really like the lam yue I bought to make Charmaine’s siu youk recipe. I find its flavour is slightly reminiscent of blue cheese. I made congee last night, and remembering your comment here, added a cube of fermented tofu to the bowl I had this afternoon — really good! I am rather tempted to try Chee’s suggestion of spreading it on toast.
I love stir-frying Asian greens in bean curd. It’s probably my favorite way of serving veggies, Asian-style. Your tong choi looks delicious, fresh and still so green. Is rau muống the same herb but with a Vietnamese name, I’m curious because it looks the same. In America, these greens can be quite expensive. I always find it interesting that foods that are considered working-class fare in their country of origin can be so expensive in other place. Maybe it’s because they are not grown in great abundance here or maybe it’s because immigrants crave the foods of their childhood and are willing to pay more for the memories. Check my version at http://www.phamfatale.com/id_153/title_Stir-Fry-Pea-Shoot-Tendrils-in-Garlic-and-Black-Bean-Sauce-Rau-Muong-Xao/
OysterCulture – I have an incredibly long list of Asian ingredients to buy, after going through several cookery books. Will need help carrying everything back home! They’re all ‘necessary’ though…
Kake – I just had it with some heated up leftover rice, for breakfast. I’ll try it on toast next time. Lam yue isn’t quite the same though, so you should try the plain or chilli fermented bean curd. You’ll be able to tell the difference immediately.
Jackie – not sure, it has so many names, I’ve discovered. I think you’re right about the cost of these vegetables too. I’m sure they’re really cheap in their country of origin. We’re paying for the cost of air freight…
Helen Yuet Ling
Wonderful! I’ve been on a farmer’s market kick and recently had a chance to tour it with the chef/owner of one of Minneapolis’ most well-regarded Chinese restaurant. She immediately pointed out the Chinese water spinach (cool, now I know its Cantonese, Mandarin and English names!) and suggested serving it simply stir-fried. But beyond that, I didn’t have much of a ‘recipe’ – you’ve kindly solved that problem with this recipe!
I’ll pick up some Chinese morning glory and fermented bean curd, and give this a try!
Tangled Noodle – lucky you! I can’t wait to hear what you think of the dish. Simply stir-fried in garlic is nice too, but it’s not the same as cooking it with fermented bean curd…