Thai Stir-Fried Spinach

Ingredientes

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

2 teaspoons white sugar

¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil, divided

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic

1½ pounds bunch spinach, trimmed of bottom 1½ inches, washed and dried well

Instruções

In a small bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper flakes until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

In a wok over medium-high, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until just barely smoking. Remove the wok from the heat, add the garlic and cook, stirring, until just beginning to color, 20 to 30 seconds. Return the wok to high and immediately add ½ of the spinach. Using tongs, turn the spinach to coat with the oil and garlic. When the spinach is nearly wilted and the garlic has turned golden brown, 30 seconds or less, transfer to a large bowl. The leaves will continue to wilt but the stems should remain crisp-tender.

Return the wok to high heat. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, swirl to coat the wok and heat until just barely smoking. Add the remaining spinach and cook, as before, for 20 to 30 seconds. Transfer to the bowl with the first batch of spinach.

Pour the fish sauce mixture over the spinach and toss. Transfer to a platter and drizzle with any accumulated liquid.

Notas

Don’t use baby spinach, which can’t handle high-heat cooking and doesn’t have stems to offer textural contrast. And don’t allow the spinach leaves to fully wilt in the pan; some leaves should still look fairly fresh, but will continue to cook after being transferred to the bowl.

This simple, bold stir-fry uses regular bunch spinach rather than the water spinach common in Thai cooking. The wilted leaves and crisp-tender stems combine for a pleasing contrast of textures. Be sure to dry the spinach well after washing (a salad spinner works best); excess water will cause splattering and popping when the spinach is added to the hot oil. We liked to serve this with steamed jasmine rice to soak up the sauce.