STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
Ah Ma’s Sweet potato leaves in Fermented Beancurd Sauce is a very popular and versatile vegetable dish in many households.
TRICK OF THE TRADE
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DISH
- It is quick and easy to prepare, with no over-complicated steps or hard to prepare ingredients!
- The umami, garlicky, slightly spicy sauce compliments the subtle sweetness of the sweet potato leaves!
HOW TO MAKE SWEET POTATO LEAVES IN FERMENTED BEANCURD?
Wash the dried shrimp, then soak in 3/4 rice bowl of boiling water for 15 minutes.
Mash up the fermented beancurd.
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Wash the sweet potato leaves and drain over sieve.
Remove the outer skin of the stem of the sweet potato leaves.
Remove the dried shrimp from the water, and set aside the shrimp water for later use.
Chop the dried shrimp finely.
Make a cornstarch solution by mixing the tsp of corn flour with 2 tsp of the shrimp water.
Add oil to the wok using medium heat. Once oil is heated, fry the chopped shrimp until it becomes aromatic.
Lower the fire, then add in the garlic and fermented beancurd. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
Turn up the heat to medium fire, and add in the sweet potato leaves slowly. As you fry, the leaves will rapidly reduce in bulk, so you should be able to fry all the leaves at one go.
Add the rest of the shrimp water and continue to fry for about 10-15 minutes.
When the leaves are softened, the dish is ready to serve. When the dish is ready, add the cornstarch solution and allow the sauce to thicken.
Finally, transfer the sweet potato leaves to a serving dish, garnish with crispy garlic and serve hot.
HOW TO PREPARE SWEET POTATO LEAVES
Remove the skin of the sweet potato leaves, otherwise it will taste very fibrous.
- First, separate the sweet potato leaves from the stems.
- Then remove the fibrous skin of the stem as much as possible. You can do this easily by breaking each stem in two-inch lengths and then pulling along the stem. This should help to remove most of the skin.
- Add salt to a basin of water to wash the sweet potato leaves and stems separately, as the salt helps to remove any dirt / mud. Thereafter, wash with water for another 2-3 times and drain.
COOKING TIPS
- Fry sweet potato leaves for longer. This way, the texture of the leaves will be soft and smooth. This is unlike other vegetables like Cai Xin and Kai Lan which turn limp if overcooked.
- Fry the dried shrimp until aromatic, so it will bring out the taste of the shrimp, otherwise the dish will lack that distinctive hei bee flavour.
- Lower the fire before adding the garlic and fermented beancurd to prevent the garlic from burning and to reduce the spattering from the oil due to the water content of the fermented beancurd.
- Use a metal spatula to cut the leaves and stems up to test if they are softened – if the stem breaks easily the dish is cooked.
AH KONG VERSION
- Add 1-2 Tbsp of belachan chili while frying the dried shrimp.
SUBSTITUTES
If you find it a hassle to remove the skin from the stems or are short on time, you can also substitute the Sweet Potato Leaves with
1) Kang Kong (same cooking time),
2)Iceberg Lettuce (cut each leaf into 3 or 4 pieces, and fry for 10 min instead of 15 min)
3) Baby Spinach (fry for 10 min instead of 15 min)
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: Ensure the brand of yellow fermented beancurd you use is gluten free.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: Skip the dried shrimp.
- Vegan: Skip the dried shrimp.
- Vegetarian: Skip the dried shrimp.
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Sweet Potato Leaves in Fermented Tofu Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 packets sweet potato leaves
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 30 g dried shrimp
- 3/4 bowl water to soak shrimps
- 2 TBsp yellow fermented beancurd
- 2 tsp corn flour
- 1-2 TBsp oil
- 1 pinch salt taste before adding
Instructions
PREPARATION METHOD
- Wash the dried shrimp, then soak in 3/4 rice bowl of boiling water for 15 minutes.
- Mash up the fermented beancurd.
- Wash the sweet potato leaves and drain over sieve.
- Remove the outer skin of the stem of the sweet potato leaves.
- Remove the dried shrimp from the water, and set aside the shrimp water for later use. Chop the dried shrimp finely.
- Make a cornstarch solution by mixing the tsp of corn flour with 2 tsp of the shrimp water.
COOKING METHOD
- Add oil to the wok using medium heat. Once oil is heated, fry the chopped shrimp until it becomes aromatic.
- Lower the fire, then add in the garlic and fermented beancurd. Fry for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn up the heat to medium fire, and add in the sweet potato leaves slowly. As you fry, the leaves will rapidly reduce in bulk, so you should be able to fry all the leaves at one go.
- Add the rest of the shrimp water and continue to fry for about 10-15 minutes.
- When the leaves are softened, the dish is ready to serve.
- Add the cornstarch solution and allow the sauce to thicken.
- Transfer the sweet potato leaves to a serving dish, garnish with crispy garlic and serve hot.
Notes
HOW TO PREPARE SWEET POTATO LEAVES
Remove the skin of the sweet potato leaves, otherwise it will taste very fibrous.- First, separate the sweet potato leaves from the stems.
- Then remove the fibrous skin of the stem as much as possible. You can do this easily by breaking each stem in two-inch lengths and then pulling along the stem. This should help to remove most of the skin.
- Add salt to a basin of water to wash the sweet potato leaves and stems separately, as the salt helps to remove any dirt / mud. Thereafter, wash with water for another 2-3 times and drain.
COOKING TIPS
- Fry sweet potato leaves for longer. This way, the texture of the leaves will be soft and smooth. This is unlike other vegetables like Cai Xin and Kai Lan which turn limp if overcooked.
- Fry the dried shrimp until aromatic, so it will bring out the taste of the shrimp, otherwise the dish will lack that distinctive hei bee flavour.
- Lower the fire before adding the garlic and fermented beancurd to prevent the garlic from burning and to reduce the spattering from the oil due to the water content of the fermented beancurd.
- Use a metal spatula to cut the leaves and stems up to test if they are softened – if the stem breaks easily the dish is cooked.
AH KONG VERSION
- Add 1-2 Tbsp of belachan chili while frying the dried shrimp.
