STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
Stir-fried Garlic Dou Miao, also known as Pea Shoots, are found in menus of most Chinese restaurants or Zi char stalls in Singapore and Malaysia.
Dou Miao, like most green leafy vegetables, are lower in calories and good sources of beta carotene, vitamin C and fibre. This vegetable can help keep sugar levels low, and are also known for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties too!
It is normally stir fried or served raw in salad.
TRICK OF THE TRADE
I am sharing with you a different way of cooking dou miao with a soup base to accompany the dish. The taste and method is a bit similar to the recipe for Chinese Spinach with Three Eggs (三蛋菜)which also has a soup-base.
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Hope you would enjoy this palatable vegetable dish, which is best served with a bowl of steaming hot Jasmine rice.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DISH
- The health benefits of the ingredients in this dish makes this dish a great one to serve the family!
- It is simple to prepare, as there are no complicated steps involved in this dish!
HOW TO MAKE GARLIC DOU MIAO?
Wash the Dou Miao twice and drain.
Wash the ikan bilis and set aside.
Remove the skin from the ginger and slice thinly
Remove the skin from the garlic, wash and pat dry.
Rinse the wolberries and set aside for later use.
In a small pot, heat 1 TBsp of oil over high heat.
Add in the ginger slices and stir. Add in ikan bilis and stir fry for 1-2 mins until aromatic.
Pour 600 ml of boiling water into the pot and let it simmer for about 15-20 mins over medium heat with the lid half covered. Once done, pour out the ikan bilis stock onto a sieve into a bowl.
Meanwhile, heat up 5 TBsp of oil in a wok over medium heat. When the oil starts to bubbles, throw in the garlic and fry till golden brown. Remove and transfer to a plate.
Remove the oil from the wok, leaving about 1 TBsp of oil behind.
Turn the heat to high, add Dou Miao to the wok and stir fry for 1 min.
Add in the fried garlic and pour in the ikan bilis stock together with the wolberries into the wok. Continue to cook until the Dou Miao withers.
Transfer to a deep plate and serve hot with a bowl of hot steaming rice. Add salt to taste.
MARKETING TIPS
- Select Dou Miao with short stems and thick leaves. If the stems are long and skinny, they are usually very fibrous. You can break the stem to test if they snap easily. If not, they are usually tough and fibrous.
- Do not keep the Dou Miao in the fridge for more than 2 days. Otherwise, it will age and turn fibrous. Get them fresh from the wet market and cook immediately.
COOKING TIPS
- Be careful to watch over the garlic when frying, as garlic gets burnt easily.
- Always turn the heat to high when frying dou miao to give the ‘Wok Hei’ like those served in zichar stall.
- Cook the dou miao until it withers but is still green.
- Taste the ikan bilis stock first before adding salt otherwise the whole dish will be too salty.
ALTERNATIVES
- You can eat the ikan bilis instead of discarding it.
- Use other vegetables like Chinese spinach (Yin Choy) or baby spinach as substitutes.
- There are 2 types of Chinese Spinach: One has round leaves and the other elongated sharp pointed leaves. Personally, my family prefers the round leaves spinach as they have a smooth texture. The elongated ones are rougher in texture.
- If you are using Chinese Spinach, remove the thin skin covering the stalk of the vegetable by breaking the stalk into 2 and just tearing the skin off otherwise it will be very fibrous. (There is no short cut to good food).
TIME SAVING TIP!
- To save time, prepare the ikan bilis stock in advance and freeze it up. You can also put the stock into the ice tray. When frying vegetable instead of adding oyster sauce, you can simply add 2 ice cubes of ikan bilis stock to enhance the taste
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Fish-Free: Add some vegetable stock in place of ikan bilis.
- Gluten-Free: No modifications needed.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Vegan: Use vegetable stock in place of ikan bilis.
- Vegetarian: Use vegetable stock in place of ikan bilis.
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Stir-fried Garlic Dou Miao in Soup Base Recipe (Pea Shoots)
Ingredients
- 45-50 gm Ikan Bilis (Dried Anchovies)
- 200 gm Dou Miao
- 8-10 cloves Garlic (whole)
- 5 TBsp Oil (for frying the garlic)
- 600 ml Water
- 1 TBsp Oil
- 1 TBsp Wolberries
- 5 slices Ginger
Instructions
PREPARATION METHOD
- Wash the Dou Miao twice and drain.
- Wash the ikan bilis and set aside.
- Remove the skin from the ginger and slice thinly
- Remove the skin from the garlic, wash and pat dry.
- Rinse the wolberries and set aside for later use.
COOKING METHOD
- In a small pot, heat 1 TBsp of oil over high heat.
- Add in the ginger slices and stir. Add in ikan bilis and stir fry for 1-2 mins until aromatic.
- Pour 600 ml of boiling water into the pot and let it simmer for about 15-20 mins over medium heat with the lid half covered. Once done, pour out the ikan bilis stock onto a sieve into a bowl.
- Meanwhile, heat up 5 TBsp of oil in a wok over medium heat. When the oil starts to bubbles, throw in the garlic and fry till golden brown. Remove and transfer to a plate.
- Remove the oil from the wok, leaving about 1 TBsp of oil behind.
- Turn the heat to high, add Dou Miao to the wok and stir fry for 1 min. Add in the fried garlic and pour in the ikan bilis stock together with the wolberries into the wok. Continue to cook until the Dou Miao withers.
- Transfer to a deep plate and serve hot with a bowl of hot steaming rice. Add salt to taste.
Notes
MARKETING TIPS
- Select Dou Miao with short stems and thick leaves. If the stems are long and skinny, they are usually very fibrous. You can break the stem to test if they snap easily. If not, they are usually tough and fibrous.
- Do not keep the Dou Miao in the fridge for more than 2 days. Otherwise, it will age and turn fibrous. Get them fresh from the wet market and cook immediately.
COOKING TIPS
- Be careful to watch over the garlic when frying, as garlic gets burnt easily.
- Always turn the heat to high when frying dou miao to give the 'Wok Hei' like those served in zichar stall.
- Cook the dou miao until it withers but is still green.
- Taste the ikan bilis stock first before adding salt otherwise the whole dish will be too salty.
ALTERNATIVES
- You can eat the ikan bilis instead of discarding it.
- Use other vegetables like Chinese spinach (Yin Choy) or baby spinach as substitutes.
- There are 2 types of Chinese Spinach: One has round leaves and the other elongated sharp pointed leaves. Personally, my family prefers the round leaves spinach as they have a smooth texture. The elongated ones are rougher in texture.
- If you are using Chinese Spinach, remove the thin skin covering the stalk of the vegetable by breaking the stalk into 2 and just tearing the skin off otherwise it will be very fibrous. (There is no short cut to good food).
TIME SAVING TIP!
- To save time, prepare the ikan bilis stock in advance and freeze it up. You can also put the stock into the ice tray. When frying vegetable instead of adding oyster sauce, you can simply add 2 ice cubes of ikan bilis stock to enhance the taste
Hi Melissa,
This Garlic Dou Miao in Soup recipe is just fantastic. I really love this one!
I would also really love to feature this in our site Greenthickies. I’ll just use one image from here and a small quote and link directly back here but I won’t post the actual recipe.All credits will be given to you and linked here.
Will that be okay?
Thanks 🙂
Katherine
Greenthickies
Hi Katherine, I saw the link on your site and it looks great. Thanks for sharing and crediting our recipe! 🙂