街市THE WET MARKET
Water spinach
通菜
Hollow-stemmed, pointed-leaved, a summer vegetable: stir-fried with shrimp paste or fermented bean curd it is on every Hong Kong summer table. In Australia the Vietnamese grocers are the reliable source, under the names kang kong or ong choy, and only in the warm months, roughly November to April.
Preparation
Snap into lengths; stems in before leaves.
Origin
Southern China. Asian grocers and markets, most reliably the Vietnamese grocers (Cabramatta, Springvale, Inala); thin, dear or absent in winter. Choy sum in shrimp paste is the honest substitute, and a different dish.
Availability in Australia
Easy to find
Australian name · water spinach / kang kong / ong choy
Where · Vietnamese grocers most reliably (Cabramatta, Marrickville, Springvale, Footscray, Inala)
What to ask for · Say kang kong or ong choy
If it is not there · Choy sum in shrimp paste, a different dish
In season · A summer vegetable, roughly November to April
Where · Vietnamese grocers most reliably (Cabramatta, Marrickville, Springvale, Footscray, Inala)
What to ask for · Say kang kong or ong choy
If it is not there · Choy sum in shrimp paste, a different dish
In season · A summer vegetable, roughly November to April
