Childhood Memories I: Water Morning Glory

Otherwise known as "chinese watercress" (name as it appears on most chinese menus) or "rau muống" (if you're Vietnamese). My mother bought this vegetable sparingly because it is very expensive here in Boston compared to out West or back home in Vietnam. I remembered that I fell in love with this vegetable and asked for it often, however, I was then teased for liking something that was used to feed pigs. Yes, WMG supposedly grows abundantly in Southeast Asia and is often mixed with grains then fed to livestock.

Depending on the season, they range from $3-7 a pound at my local Asian market. And I picked some up the other day (yippee). It's so simple and quick to make. All you need is some garlic, shallots (option), and salt to taste. I didn't add any salt to mine... just b/c I like it like that. Seriously though, HBP runs in my family so I have to be extra careful with what I feed my body.

Add a little canola oil to your pan and turn to medium heat.

My garlic is growing. Peel the shallots and chop it. Peel the garlic then smash it! Then chop it.



Take out your beauty and prepare to chop it up.



I cut off about a 1/4 inch at the ends. How pretty? Well anyway, toss it.



I chop the whole thing up at about 2 inches in length and then rinsed it well. It looks like a lot but it really isn't. It's kinda' like spinach, once it's cooked, it loses more than half its original volume.



Throw the shallots and garlic into your pan. I used the entire bulb of garlic! Let it sizzle and brown before you throw in your grass.



Once ready, throw in the grass. Who cares if it overflows - you're going to put a cover on it.



Cover it. It overcooks pretty easily so I would recommend checking it every 3-5 minutes. I cooked mine for about 10 minutes on medium heat (7) and it was still slightly overcooked.

I love how garlicky this thing is... between the two of us, we finished it.