Did you know at least 40 types of cruciferous vegetables are consumed worldwide? How many can you list? We’ve all heard of bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, and kale, probably also of zesty turnips, radishes, arugula, and mustard greens. These vegetables are widely promoted as important part of a healthy diet and have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease and stroke, and are being studied for their potential role in cancer prevention.

Enough reason for me to post a weekly recipe with a cruciferous vegetable where I will get my inspiration from all over the world. This week a Vietnamese Morning Glory (water spinach) recipe, but first a few facts about this healthy vegetable.

Morning Glory (Ipomoea aquatica) or water spinach in English, ong choy in Chinese and rau muống in Vietnamese grows wild beside waterways and fresh water swamps in tropical and sub-tropical regions. The plant has bell shaped flowers, very similar to the flowers of the sweet potato plant. Morning Glory has a high amount of phenolic compounds, which makes it extremely nutritious, antioxidant, and disease preventative, just like other cruciferous vegetables.

When I'm in Vietnam, I enjoy morning glory every day (rau muống in Vietnamese), a very popular Southeast Asian water spinach. This healthy and easy to prepare vegetable, is quickly stir fried with garlic and soy sauce (in Vietnam often fish sauce). A great healthy side dish that pairs well with rice. Ask for Morning Glory in an Asian grocery store (Thai, Chinese).

WHAT YOU NEED

• 700-800 g morning glory

• 1 tsp soy sauce (fish sauce if non vegan version)

• 3 cloves garlic cloves thinly slice

• ½ tsp sugar

• 1 tablespoon oil

WHAT YOU DO

• Trim about 2 cm off the ends of the morning glory stalks and cut the rest of the stalks into 8 cm pieces (the leaves intact).

• Wash morning glory well.

• Heat oil in a wok medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir fry until slightly brown.

• Add morning glory, fish sauce and sugar to the pan and sauté until vegetable cooks down, in just about 4 minutes.