Filipino Whole30 Eats: Stir-Fried Kangkong (Quickie Veggie)

The basic Whole30 meal template requires you to start by placing a protein source (1-2 palm-sized servings of meat, chicken, or fish, or as many eggs as you can hold in one hand) onto your plate, and then filling the rest of your plate with veggies and occasionally some fruit (making sure some good fat is included in the mix). Let’s focus on the veggies part of that formula for a moment and note that this does not mean a desultory smattering of carrot sticks and celery around your pork chop, carefully spread out to cover the maximum area; it usually means 2 or more cups of veggies heaped on your plate per meal. Including breakfast.

That’s a lot of veggies.

So most Whole30ers learn quickly to roast, stir-fry, bake, boil, steam, grill, microwave, and otherwise prepare loads of veggies at a time, often keeping stocks in the fridge and just doling them out as needed during mealtimes — or they buy salad greens in bulk and munch through astonishing amounts of plant matter until they find the bottoms of their salad bowls.

It’s also handy to have easy, quick, go-to recipes for when you’re starving and you need to have your veggies on your plate pronto. So here’s one recipe for a Filipino Quickie Veggie (the first of a weekly series) to help fill that need.

Translation

Kangkong (kahng-kong): water spinach, a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as a veggie

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kangkong (about 1 lb.)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or chopped red or green chilis) 
• coconut aminos (soy sauce substitute)

Instructions

1. Trim the stem ends and cut thick stems into 2-inch lengths. Set these 2-inch stems aside. Cut the rest (leafy portions and thinner stems) into manageable lengths (no longer than the diameter of your pan). 
2. Heat your pan with your favorite cooking fat in medium heat. When the fat starts shimmering, add the garlic and ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Add your kangkong stems and cook about 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until the stems start to soften.
4. Add your leaves and thinner stems and continue cooking until the leaves start to wilt. (Kangkong is like spinach; it wilts fast once it gets started.)
5. Dust your kangkong with black pepper and add the coconut aminos to taste (start with one tablespoon and sprinkle more if needed). Continue stirring.
6. When the stems are tender-crisp and the leaves are all wilted, sprinkle with red pepper flakes. Give it one last good mix, and then transfer to a plate.

Makes about 3 servings.

How this is Whole30
Replacing the usual soy sauce with coconut aminos made all the ingredients Whole30 compliant.

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