Chinese Water Spinach by: Everyone 0 Comments Jump to Recipe Posted:11/20/2020Updated:11/20/2020 Chinese water spinach, known in our family as “hollow vegetable,” is one of our favorite Asian leafy greens.We love ordering it at restaurants as well as making it at home.  In this article, we’ll talk about what this vegetable is, different types, and how to prepare it!  What is Water Spinach? Water spinach is a long, leafy green vegetable with hollow stems that grows in water or damp soil.It goes by the name of ong choy in Cantonese or kōng xīn cài (空心菜) in Mandarin, which translates to “hollow heart vegetable.”  In Malaysia and Indonesia, it is also known as kangkung.

It’s known as phak bung in Thailand, rau mung in Vietnam, trokuon in Cambodia, and kangkong in the Philippines.Despite its English name, water spinach is not really spinach, nor is it botanically related to it.It (ipomoea aquatica) is a member of the convolvulaceae (morning glory) family.

Other English names for it include: swamp spinach, river spinach, and Chinese spinach.As a semi-aquatic tropical plant, it grows abundantly in natural waterways in Southeast Asia, where it is native.Here in the U.S., it is cultivated in California, Florida, Hawaii, Texas, and the U.S.

Virgin Islands.Fast Facts: The 2 Types of Water Spinach 1.Green Stem Water Spinach The “green stem” variety has narrow leaves and as the name suggests, a more vibrant gre

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