Espinaca de agua

Fried in belacan, this is the definitive Southeast Asian treatment for the vegetable.

Whole cloves smashed into screaming-hot oil first, before the stems ever touch the pan.

Funk and salt against a leaf that on its own is mostly water and grass.

Heat wakes up a vegetable that is otherwise defined entirely by its crunch.

Fermented bean curd stirred through is a Cantonese default for a plain leafy stem.

A sweet-savoury glaze on hollow stems that hold a sauce better than most leaves.

Simmered in coconut milk it reads more like a Southeast Asian curry green than a stir-fry.

Crushed and scattered over the wilted leaves, a Vietnamese finish more than a Chinese one.

Salt-fish savour against a grassy hollow stem, the same logic as garlic and greens turned Italian.