WATER SPINACH, a hollow-stemmed green with a rich, almost nutty taste, is called kangkung in Malaysia and Indonesia (and the Philippines, too). I urge you to familiarize yourself with it. I have liked its pleasing crispness ever since I first encountered it in a stir-fry like this one, a Nyonya classic. Sautéed with a flavoring paste of chiles, shallots, garlic, and shrimp paste, it personifies the Nyonya way with vegetables. The tart tamarind serves as a counterpoint to the sweetness of the soybean paste, while the salty shrimp paste contrasts with (and ultimately deepens) the taste of the water spinach. The result is an irresistibly lovely tangle of green and red.

Water spinach is ubiquitous in the Malay Archipelago. Many cooks don’t even bother to buy it at the market. They just pluck it from the edges of rice paddies and roadside ditches, where it grows wild like the water-loving weed that it is. There are hundreds of varieties, but two are most commonly seen in markets in Asia and North America. The more typical is deep green and has long, narrow leaves that extend from a thin, strawlike center stem that’s slightly thinner than a pencil. The other is pale to lime green and has stubby, triangular leaves and slightly thicker (but still hollow) stems. The latter is grown directly in soil, rather than in swampy earth. Both varieties are comparable in texture and taste. Western spinach, which is similar in name only, doesn’t make a good substitute.

Makes 4 servings

1 teaspoon tamarind pulp, plus 3 tablespoons very warm water to make extract

1 medium-sized bunch water spinach (about 13 ounces/370 grams)

1/2 teaspoon dried shrimp paste

3 shallots (about 2 1/2 ounces/70 grams total), coarsely chopped

1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped

1 to 3 fresh red Holland chiles or other fresh long, red chiles such as Fresno or cayenne, stemmed and coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon sweet soybean paste

2 tablespoons peanut oil

Kosher salt (optional)

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1.           Place the tamarind pulp in a small nonreactive bowl and mix it with the warm water. Let the pulp rest until it softens, 10 to 15 minutes. Squeeze and massage the softened pulp through your fingers, loosening the fruit’s auburn pulp from the shiny black seeds, brittle brown skin shards, and sinewy bits of string. With your fingers, remove all the solid pieces from the liquid and discard them. All that will remain is a thick caramel-colored extract. Set the tamarind extract aside.

2.           Inspect the water spinach, discarding any yellowed or spoiled stems or leaves. Trim off the bottom ends (about 1 inch/2.5 centimeters) and discard. Wash the greens in several changes of the coldest possible water; tepid water will cause them to wilt, and you want them to stay as perky as possible before they’re cooked. Test the stems for toughness by biting into a few; discard stems that are thicky and woody. Cut the greens into 3-inch (7.5-centimeter) lengths. If any of the stems are thicker than 1/3 inch (9 millimeters), cut them in half lengthwise, or they’ll likely be too chewy when cooked. Dry the greens in a salad spinner or set them aside to dry on a kitchen towel or on paper towels. The leaves should be very dry. Damp leaves will result in a watery dish.

COOK’S NOTE

Thanks to modern shipping and the gentle climates of California and Florida, people living in the northern United States can now acquire previously hard-to-find greens with relative ease. In the case of water spinach, also known as Chinese watercress, morning glory, or ong choy (the Cantonese name, which translates as “hollow vegetable” and refers to the strawlike stem), this is a mixed blessing. This delicate vegetable is highly perishable and prone to spoilage in ways that most other vegetables are not. Water spinach is at its best when it’s cooked and consumed only a few hours after it has been harvested (a trait it shares with baby lettuces).

Suffice it to say, the water spinach available in markets is generally not at the peak of freshness, and keeping it tucked away in the fridge crammed inside a plastic produce bag will do nothing to make it fresher. I recommend, if possible, cooking it the day you purchase it. Although a healthy bunch may keep for up to a few days in the refrigerator, hidden decayed stems may compromise the flavor of the entire bunch. Try to find farmers in your area who grow water spinach during the summer months. Bunches that I’ve purchased in mid-July from vendors at farmers’ markets in California and New York are as good (and as fresh) as any I’ve eaten in Southeast Asia.

Reprinted from Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking From the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore by James Oseland. Copyright (c) 2006 by James Oseland. Food photographs copyright (c) 2006 by Christopher Hirsheimer. With permission of the publisher, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

James Oseland is the editor-in-chief of Saveur magazine and the author of Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (W.W. Norton).