{"id":23249,"date":"2019-09-10T21:38:33","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T13:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tasteasianfood.com\/?p=23249"},"modified":"2020-05-28T20:20:47","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T12:20:47","slug":"kangkung-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tasteasianfood.com\/mystaging\/kangkung-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Kangkung recipe with belacan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Stir fry kangkung with belacan <\/strong>is an authentic home cook food for the Malaysian. This kangkung recipe so well accepted that it has assimilated into the cooking culture of different ethnic groups in this country.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will explain how to cook kangkung with belacan from the perspective of a Malaysian Chinese. My kangkung recipe may be slightly different from the Malay version, but share the common characteristic of using plenty of chilies and belacan. I will stay true to the authenticity of the recipe. So, please adjust the level of spiciness accordingly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me mention what is kangkung and belacan before going into the nitty-gritty of the preparation. You may skip this if you are familiar with these items, but I know there are a large number of readers who live outside of Asia who may want some information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stir<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my\u00a0privacy policy<\/a>\u00a0for more info. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kangkung<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This plant is a type of sub-aquatic vegetable widely available in South East Asia. It has a hollow stem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, it is termed as kongxincai (\u7a7a\u5fc3\u83dc)<\/strong> in Mandarin Chinese, which means ‘hollow vegetable.’ The Malaysian Chinese however, called it ong choy <\/strong>(\u8579\u83dc) in Cantonese. Kangkung is also spelled as kangkong in Malay and Indonesian language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The English translation is water spinach, river spinach, and water morning glory.<\/strong> These terms are all unfamiliar to the local vegetable vendors, and very likely they do not know about these translations. Therefore, I will use the term \u2018kangkung\u2019 throughout the following sections in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kangkung is best for stir fry as the leaves soak up the sauce<\/strong> and the stems provide a contrasting crunchy texture<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belacan<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Belacan <\/a>is the name of the shrimp paste popular in Malaysia and Singapore. It is primarily made with krills and salt and fermented for several months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belacan is sold in a solid brown color block wrapped in paper. It has a pungent aroma, and therefore a little goes a long way in cooking. The closest form of shrimp paste to belacan is terasi<\/a>, the Indonesian version of the shrimp paste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This shrimp paste screams umami! Belacan and terasi are widely used to make sambal, the chili paste for a variety of cuisine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sambal <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The word ‘sambal’ refers to the local chili paste prepared with chili, onion, and garlic. There are many types of sambal available, as a result of various additional ingredients added to the basic recipe. The sambal in this recipe is combined with belacan and hence is named kangkung with belacan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: Every household in Malaysia make their sambal at home. However, you can purchase the store-bought sambal oelek<\/a><\/strong> for convenience to simplify the cooking process. It is available in Asian grocery stores in many countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to stir fry kangkung belacan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Below are the detail steps on how to stir-fry kangkung with belacan.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Wash the kangkung thoroughly<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Discard the fibrous section close to the root. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kangkung is quite gritty and must be washed with copious amounts of water. I suggest to clean it in the kitchen sink thoroughly. Drain the kangkung in a colander before use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Separate the stems from the leaves<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Divide the kangkung into the stems and leaves sections. Cut the stems into five cm short sections. Don’t be stingy. Cut off the first fifteen centimeters <\/strong>from the root as it is too fibrous. It will now turn soft even cooking for five minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the stems need a longer time to turn soft, we will stir fry the stems for two minutes before adding the leaves. The leaves only need one minute of stir-frying to become soft and wilt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Blend the ingredients for the sambal<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The sambal of this kangkung recipe contain the toast the belacan and soak the dried shrimps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toast the belacan<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It is better to use the toasted belacan for making the sambal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n