🥔 SIDE
Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Garlic)
Crisp hollow-stemmed water spinach blanched, then tossed in a very hot wok with plenty of garlic and a glossy splash of oyster sauce, the green side dish on countless Vietnamese family tables.
Vietnamese · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 6 min
~86 cal · 4g protein · 8g carbs · 5g fat · 3g fiber · 1g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Rau muống, water spinach, also sold as morning glory, is the most ordinary green vegetable in Vietnam, and stir-fried with garlic it is one of the dishes most likely to appear at any family meal. Its hollow stems stay crunchy and its leaves turn soft and silky in seconds, so it cooks almost as fast as it can be tossed.
The method is simple and quick. The fibrous ends are trimmed and the rest snapped into lengths by hand; many cooks blanch it briefly first to keep the colour bright and the stems tender. Garlic goes into hot oil until fragrant, the greens follow over high heat, and the seasoning is a little oyster sauce and sugar, or , finished with more garlic, sometimes fried until golden.
It is a side, not a meal: a plate of it sits beside steamed rice and a such as thịt kho, or next to a bowl of noodle soup, a clean, garlicky green against richer dishes.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 500 g water spinach (rau muống, also sold as morning glory)Hard to find? 500 g Chinese broccoli (gai lan) or spinach - loses the crunchy hollow stems that make the dish; spinach needs no blanching
- 1 1/2 tbsp
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- to taste salt and black pepper
Instructions
- 1Trim off the tough bottom of the stems, snap or cut the water spinach into 8 to 10 cm lengths and wash it well in several changes of cold water.
- 2Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the water spinach and blanch for 1 minute, until bright green. Drain it very well.✎ Chef’s noteBlanching first keeps the stems tender and the colour bright, and stops the wok flooding with water.
- 3Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add two-thirds of the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds, until fragrant and just turning golden.
- 4Add the water spinach and toss for 1 to 2 minutes to coat it in the garlic oil. Add the oyster sauce and sugar and toss for another minute until glossy.
- 5Stir in the remaining garlic, season with salt and pepper, and serve at once with steamed rice.
Vietnamese home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Hanoi (Red River Delta). Hanoi, in the Red River Delta, is the home of bún chả and the city that made pho famous, though the soup's birthplace is disputed with Nam Dinh province to the south, whose Van Cu villagers were carrying it to the capital by about 1900. Balanced and less sweet than the south, its cooking prizes clean, clear broths.
🗺️
Vietnam. Nuoc cham is the thing that never appears on a menu: fish sauce cut with lime, water, sugar, garlic and chilli, mixed to a ratio each household considers correct and set down beside almost everything. The fish sauce itself is anchovies and salt left in wooden barrels for months, and the EU registered Phu Quoc island's version as a protected name in 2012.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Vietnam
Phở Gà (Hanoi Chicken Pho)A clear, star-anise-scented chicken broth over rice noodles, finished with herbs and lime at the table.
Bánh XèoSizzling turmeric-rice crepes stuffed with shrimp, pork, and sprouts, wrapped in lettuce and dunked in nuoc cham.
Bún Bò HuếThe imperial city’s fierce beef-and-lemongrass noodle soup, spiked with chili oil and shrimp paste, bolder than pho.
Browse all Vietnam recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Wok, Pot or saucepan, Steamer.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Vietnam meal
Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng)Drink
Chè Ba MàuDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Garlic)?
Crisp hollow-stemmed water spinach blanched, then tossed in a very hot wok with plenty of garlic and a glossy splash of oyster sauce, the green side dish on countless Vietnamese family tables.
Where does Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Garlic) come from?
Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Garlic) is a Vietnamese dish from Hanoi (Red River Delta), Vietnam.
Can Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Garlic) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Garlic) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Garlic) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Rau Muống Xào Tỏi (Stir-Fried Water Spinach with Garlic) take to make?
About 16 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 6 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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