Stir-Fried Water Spinach and Beef / Rau Muống Xào Thịt Bò

If you’re looking for a quick and easy weekday dinner that only takes fifteen minutes to make, look no further! This stir-fried water spinach and beef dish is a classic Vietnamese meal and is a real crowd-pleaser! The mild flavor of the water spinach soaks up the essence of the beef and garlic to produce a flavorful and nutritious dish. Don’t sleep on this recipe!

What is Water Spinach?

Water Spinach is also known as Morning Glory, Rau Muống, or Ong Choy. It’s commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine and has long, hollow stems and elongated leaves that have a mild and slightly sweet flavor.

Water spinach can be boiled, stir-fried, or used in soups and salads. If you’re looking for a fantastic salad recipe using water spinach, check out my gỏi bò rau muống recipe!

Step 1:

I’m using an eye of round cut of beef today because it’s affordable, but any cut of steak will be fine. We’ll thinly slice the beef and marinate it with fish sauce, sugar, MSG, black pepper, and oil.

Protip*

Freeze your beef for an hour before slicing. The partially frozen beef will be firm and easier to slice thinly.

Step 2:

Rinse water spinach and cut it into thirds. You can stir-fry the stems in this recipe or save them to use in a different recipe.

Step 3:

To finish our prep, we’ll slice half a white onion into strips and chop up some green onions for a garnish.

Step 4:

Add oil to a hot pan, and sear marinated beef. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan. We want our beef to get a nice hard sear without steaming it.
Then add onions and minced garlic. Stir-fry until 80% done, then remove the beef and onions from the pan.

Step 5:

Add water spinach to the pan, and wilt down. That will only take a minute or two. Then add beef back into the pan and give it a final toss.

To serve, add water, spinach, beef, and sauce to a serving dish. Garnish with green onions, fried garlic, and black pepper. Pair with rice for a complete meal!