The Ong Choy With Fermented Bean Curd My Dad's Made 100,000 Times
Why this recipe
Most ong choy with fermented bean curd recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 110.8K views, 2.1K likes on YouTube.
Ong choy is a vegetable with many names. In English, it's known as water spinach; in Southeast Asia, it's referred to as kangkung; and in Mandarin, it's pronounced kōngxīncài (空心菜), which means "hollow vegetable" because the stems resemble hollow tubes. My dad calls it ong choy, but it's also commonly referred to as tung coi (通菜) in Cantonese.
No matter what you call it, there's no denying that this veggie makes a great side dish. My dad's stir-fried Ong Choy With Fermented Bean Curd (腐乳炒蕹菜) is not only quick and easy to make, but it's super flavorful thanks to the umami-packed sauce. The hollow stems of the water spinach soak it right up, making every bite perfectly salty and funky.
What to serve with ong choy
This stir-fried water spinach is a wonderful side dish to go alongside entrees such as White Cut Chicken or Steamed Fish.
Pairs well with
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Ingredients
On ong choy
Ong choy is a seasonal vegetable that's most commonly found in the summer months. The long, leafy green vegetable typically grows in the water, but despite its English name, it's not actually related to spinach.
There are two types, a green-stemmed variety that grows in damp soil and the white-stemmed variety we're using in this dish. When selecting ong choy, look for bright green leaves that aren't yellowing. Avoid stems and roots that are too fibrous as that's an indication that they're old.
On fermented bean curd
Fermented bean curd, or 南乳 (naam jyu), is the secret ingredient that gives this stir-fried ong choy its unique flavor. Also known as Chinese cheese because of its salty, deliciously funky flavor, the condiment is made by fermenting its namesake ingredient in rice wine, salt, and other seasonings. The resulting creamy and pungent bean curd is essential to many classic Chinese dishes, including Char Siu and Buddha's Delight.
Jars are available at most Chinese supermarkets and also online:
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Instructions
Prep ingredients
Keep the bundle of ong choy (1 lb) tied together and trim off the woody ends at the bottom.
Gather the ends of the crunchy stems and use your hands to break the long stems into smaller pieces about 2 to 3 inches in length. Submerge the vegetables in a large bowl of water and set aside.
Smasn, then peel the garlic (3 clove). Trim off the hard end and smash again, then finely mince by chopping at different angles.
Cut the ginger (0.50 oz) into thin slices. Lay them down, then cut into thin strips
Trim the stem off of the chili pepper. Slice the pepper open lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, then slice it into thin strips at a diagonal.
Rinse the ong choy. Hold the vegetables up by the stems and agitate the leaves in the water to dislodge any remaining dirt and debris. Drain in a colander, then rinse and drain a second time.
Prep sauce
To a small bowl, add the fermented bean curd (3 cube), sugar (1 teaspoon), cooking wine (1 tablespoon) and white pepper (0.25 teaspoon). Use a spoon to smash the bean curd and mix it into the other ingredients until a smooth paste forms.
Taste and adjust if needed.
Blanch ong choy
Boil water in a wok on high heat. Add the salt (1 teaspoon) and oil (1 tablespoon).
Once the water is at a rolling boil, grab the ong choy by the leaves and lower the bundle into the water, stems first.
Let the stems cook for about 35 seconds, then use chopsticks to submerge the leaves and cook for 2 mins while stirring occasionally. They’re ready when the leaves are vibrantly green and the stems just begin to soften. Transfer the vegetables to a colander and drain.
Discard the water in the wok.
Stir fry dish
Place the wok back onto the stove and turn the heat to high to dry it out and bring it up to temperature.
As the wok heats up, place a plate on top of the ong choy in the colander and press down to squeeze out any excess water.
When the wok is dry and hot enough, add the oil (3 tablespoon) to the wok and turn the heat to low.
Fry the ginger and garlic for 10 seconds, then add the chili and cook for another 15 seconds until aromatic.
Add the ong choy to the wok, increase the heat to high and stir fry for 1 minute.
(Chef's Tip: Instead of a wok spatula, my dad uses a pair of long chopsticks because they're ideal for mixing and flipping the vegetables.)
Add the sauce, let it cook in the bottom of the wok, then mix and toss everything together.
Finish it off with a drizzle of oil (1 tablespoon), stir, and plate.
Made with love ❤️
We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.
Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.
