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Aroy Mak Mak

Morning Glory

ผักบุ้ง

Phak boong: water spinach with hollow stems, flash-fried with garlic and chilli.

Morning Glory

Morning glory, also called water spinach, grows in wet ground and on the surface of canals and ponds. Its long, hollow stems stay crunchy when cooked, while the arrow-shaped leaves wilt into silky greens, which makes it one of the best vegetables for fast stir-frying.

Pronunciationpak boong
FlavourMild, green and slightly sweet; crunchy stems, soft leaves
Used inStir-fried morning glory, sour curries, raw with som tam
SubstituteSpinach with sliced celery for crunch, or tenderstem broccoli

Phak boong fai daeng

Its most famous dish is phak boong fai daeng, “morning glory over a red flame”. Morning glory, garlic, chilli, fermented soybean paste, oyster sauce and a little sugar are piled on a plate, then thrown all at once into a smoking-hot wok, which often flares up in a sheet of flame. It is stir-fried for less than a minute. In Phitsanulok, cooks famously toss it across the street to a waiter catching it with a plate.

Thai and Chinese morning glory

Thai morning glory has thinner stems and narrower leaves, and is crisper. Chinese morning glory has thicker stems and broader leaves, is more common in shops outside Asia, and works just as well in stir-fries.

Preparing it

Wash it well and cut it into 8–10 cm lengths. Separate the thick lower stems from the leafy tops: the stems go into the wok first, the leaves for the last 20 seconds. Discard any hard, woody ends.

Other uses

It is added to sour curries (gaeng som), served raw and crisp next to som tam, and shredded into long curls for some noodle dishes and salads.

Buying and storing

Buy it from Asian grocers, look for crisp stems and bright leaves, and cook it within one or two days. Wrap it in damp paper in the fridge.

Cook’s tip

Everything must be in the wok within a minute. Mix the sauce, garlic and chilli in a bowl with the morning glory before you heat the wok, then tip it all in at once.

More Vegetables

All Vegetables

Recipes with Morning Glory