Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Spicy Water Spinach or Long Bean, I like them all!

"...90% of adult bone mass is acquired in girls by the age of 18! That means that after 18, you have only 10% of your bone mass that you can still build". That makes me in the same category! And calling me to participate in this Beautiful Bones event hosted by Susan of FoodBlogga.

We should strike a balance in calcium-rich food. Tap them from different sources and not just depend on one. Milk and cheese; soy milk and tofu; green leafy vegetables and legumes, seafood such as salmon and sardines, and even whole grains - "extract" calcium from all of them.

Taking it from here, I wish to share a vegetable spicy stir fry recipe common in Southeast Asia. Whether it is dark leafy green vegetable like water spinach (or kangkong) or legume like yardlong bean (Chinese long beans), both are calcium-rich vegetables and I like to stir fry them this way. Okra (lady fingers) as well...with sambal belacan, can be oh-so-delicious.

Sambal Belacan KangKong/Water Spinach
Ingredients: Water spinach, garlic sliced thinly, dried shrimps, sambal belacan
Directions: Heat oil in wok. Add in garlic and dried shrimps and fry till fragrant. Add in sambal belacan then the vegetables. Quickly fry at high heat and dish up (do not overcook the vegetables.)


When it is perfectly done, the vegetables should maintain a slight crisp in their tender stems and soft tender leaves. I do not like to overcook my vegetables.



Spicy Long Beans
The ingredients are the same(as above) except Chinese long beans are used.

Wokking it up! Remember...no overcooking!

These long beans are a good source of protein, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus, and potassium, and a very good source of vitamin C, folate, magnesium, and manganese. Of course, calcium-rich too!


Spicy and tender crisp long beans! Yummy!

Both are definitely good with steamed rice.

What is your main source of calcium in the daily diet ?

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