Crispy "Spinach"

[dankphishin]

A few years ago, i was about 15 and traveled around Asia with my dad, who lived in Japan. Our travels took us to Hong Kong, where i had this awesome dish of what i think was spinach, it was crispy and almost melted in your mouth, it was so unbelievably good. it wasn't really greasy at all. I since tried to sample a variety in montreal, and found it too sweet, but the right texture. If i could make this, i'd eat it every day. anyone have any ideas on what i made and how to recreate? i haven't found any recipes online. thanks!

[jo-mel]

Interesting that you should ask this. I had just mentioned a Chiu Chow dish, on the New York thread, that uses a bed of 'crispy spinach'! I hope this is what you are looking for. It really is a taste sensation. The first time I had it, I had no idea it was spinach, but fell in love with it and was delighted to find a recipe for it.

According to Ken Hom's "Fragrant Harbor", you pick through spinach and remove any tough stalks. Wash the spinach till all sand is gone, then DRY THOROUGHLY!!!. Heat a couple cups of oil in something deep, till very hot. Add the spinach - a good handful and deep/fry for about 45 seconds until they are deep green and crisp. Remove with a slotted ladle and drain on paper towels. Continue with the reat of the spinach. (In his Chiu Chow chicken, Hom uses 1/2 pound.)

Simple! Tasty!! But please be careful of that hot oil and any spinach that is wet!! I've always kept a large cover nearby to catch the splatter. No matter how dry the spinach seems, there always seems to be a drop of water to play havoc.

Now that you can get the microwavable spinach (usually baby spinach) it is already washed, so you would have dry spinach to begin with. A real time saver!! But still keep that cover close by, and stand back, until the sputtering stops, as even 'dry' leaves are moist leaves.

[gus_tatory]

jo-mel:

thanks for the info. crispy spinach is a delight.

have you ever seen it done with a light dusting of, say, rice flour? do you think it might help? thanks.

[jo-mel]

jo-mel:

thanks for the info. crispy spinach is a delight. 

have you ever seen it done with a light dusting of, say, rice flour? do you think it might help? thanks.

The spinach leaves, by themselves, come out so crispy THIN, that they are like the thinest potato chip you can imagine. I wonder if adding any rice flour would thicken them.

Then again -- the rice flour wouldn't adhere unless the spinach was moistened. The coating might take away that special characteristic ---- but give it a new one. I do wonder how easy it would be for moist leaves to be coated with the rice powder. Probably in a big bag and a lot of shaking!

How have you had the crispy spinach? I just did a 'google' on them and found two recipes. They were fried without any coating. One was fried in 375' oil and used salt & pepper as a finish; and the other shredded the spinach, cooked it in oil that was brought to a smoke and tossed with sesame seeds and chopped green chilis after the spinach was drained.

[gus_tatory]

How have you had the crispy spinach? I just did a 'google' on them and found two recipes. They were fried without any coating. One was fried in 375' oil and used salt & pepper as a finish; and the other shredded the spinach, cooked it in oil that was brought to a smoke and tossed with sesame seeds and chopped green chilis after the spinach was drained.

i've had crispy spinach where it's as you describe, paper-thin and potato-chip like.

mmm...

i just wondered (perhaps i should conduct a test-kitchen) whether dusting it with rice flour might help?

the spinach prep you describe with the sesame and chilis sounds great.

[mudbug]

Basically, if you add the rice flour, you're in tempura territory, which is also excellent.

The same methods may be applied to herb leaves for a crispy and delightful edibile garnish to dishes.

[tejon]

I've had crispy spinach as an appetizer that was amazing. It was drizzled with lemon juice and sprkinled with just a bit of salt, which ended up tasting somewhat like salt and vinegar type potato chips. Truly addictive stuff.

[jo-mel]

The first time I had 'crispy spinach' was in a Chiu Chow restaurant. Dark meat chicken was prepared and served on a bed of the spinach. (Chin Chew Chicken with Pearl Leaves)

Fragrant Harbor (Ken Hom) says the dish is supposed to be served on 'chili leaves', but says that the spinach 'works just as well'

More on the subject:

Eileen Yin Fei Lo's "Chinese Kitchen" speaks of this traditional Chiu Chow dish, (Chinjiew Chicken -- see other name above) and she says 'chin jiew' is the Chiu Chow term for Sichuan peppercorns, and the fried leaves are shaped like small maple leaves which grow wild and are not available outside their region. They are called Pearl Vegetable. Yin Fei Lo recommends using basil leaves.

I never knew the fried spinach was served as an appetizer. Good idea!!! They are really tasty!

[dankphishin]

thanks for all the replies, i can't wait to try to make it.

[Anna N]

Just had to try this. All the warnings about the sputtering should be taken to heart. But the result is surreal - I made a number of attempts before I got "crispy" spinach. The oil needs to be hot! 375-385F and put only a handful of spinach in at a time as it quickly lowers the temp of the oil. The clue to me that it was done was the change to a very, very deep green of a few leaves or portions of leaves. Thanks for bringing this to egullet!

[hathor]

The same method works really well with basil leaves. I usually finish with some salt, whether its spinach or basil. I've had the chili leaves in Hong Kong and they are fantastic. Salty, crispy, green...what could be bad about that??

[Ari]

I first tried crispy spinach at Nobu, over arctic char. It seemed simple enough, so the next time I made this Javanese Roasted Salmon with wilted spinach from epicurious, instead of serving it over wilted spinach I made crispy spinach (just deep fried and salted) and piled the spinach around the salmon. I put the salmon on a bed of himalayan red rice. Guests loved it.

[jo-mel]

Just had to try this.  All the warnings about the sputtering should be taken to heart.  But the result is surreal - I made a number of attempts before I got "crispy" spinach. The oil needs to be hot!  375-385F and put only a handful of spinach in at a time as it quickly lowers the temp of the oil.  The clue to me that it was done was the change to a very, very deep green of a few leaves or portions of leaves.  Thanks for bringing this to egullet!

LOL! I still remember the splattered T-shirt, and the oily table and floor from that first time I fried the leaves!

The taste is intriguing, isn't it!