Morning Glory

Two weeks ago, I went to Loy Kratong festival at Thai Temple in Del Valle. Loy Kratong festival falls on the full moon of November. People will make Krathong, or a floating flower that is originally made by folding banana leaves into petals and secure them to a "floater" usually made from cutting banana trunks into rounds. The floating is a way to thank the river and to let go of any anger and resentments. It is a big festival for Thai people. There are big events going on all around the country especially in the north of Thailand in Chiangmai.

A lady brought in a huge bag of Morning Glory and laid them on the table for sale. "Those were just picked a few minutes ago", she said. Immediately, I thought of two perfect dishes to make with them and bought a couple of bunches to take home with me. Morning Glory or Ipomoea aquatica, is an aquatic plant grows in water or in soil that is next to water. It is considered a noxious weed by USDA because of its invasive nature. I think it should be fine to grow these in a pond or contained water space in your backyard. You can buy these at Asian markets around town. Stick the stems in water to sprout roots if you want to try growing them. Our family used to live on the river and these grow everywhere in our "front yard". I can totally see how it gets out of control if let loose in natural water sources like lakes. They are called by different names from water spinach, swamp morning glory or in Thai "Pak Boong".

I made two dishes out of these Pak Boong. The first is sour curry. The recipe is from the previous post on Gang Som.



I fried Salted Black Fish or Pla Salid to go with it and I was back home again.




I also made Pak Boong Fai Daeng or Red Flame Morning Glory, literally.



You usually see this dish done by street vendors. Some vendors make it into a show to attract customer by throwing the stir fried dish in the air and another person catches it with a plate and serve it. It's a pretty fun scene to watch. This dish is super easy to make.

stir fried Thai Morning Glory

1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 bruised chillies
4 cloves garlic, bruised
2 qt bite size Morning Glory
1 tsp soy bean paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup water or stock







Heat up the oil in a pan, fry garlic and chilies until fragrant, add vegetables, soy bean paste, soy sauce and water and stir fry until vegetables are wilted. Check seasoning and serve immediately over rice.