Cooking in
British Columbia
Thai
Phad Pak Bung Fai Daeng (Morning Glory Stir-Fried with Chilli and Yellow Bean)
Water morning glory (pak bung — Ipomoea aquatica) stir-fried at extreme heat with garlic, fresh chillies, yellow bean sauce (tao jiew), oyster sauce, and fish sauce — one of the most dramatic wok preparations in the Thai street food canon and one of the few in which the vegetable's quality is the primary variable. Morning glory's hollow stems and tender leaves wilt rapidly and completely in 2 minutes of extreme wok heat — but they wilt to a bright, vivid green rather than a collapsed grey-green because the extreme heat instantly evaporates the surface moisture and begins the Maillard process on the outer surface before the interior moisture can steam the vegetable.
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Cook
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
400 g
water morning glory (pak bung / Ipomoea aquatica)
cut into 8–10 cm sections, stems and leaves included
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
garlic cloves
roughly crushed
Your own market
3–4
fresh red chillies
bruised or roughly sliced
Your own market
2 tbsp
yellow bean sauce (tao jiew)
fermented yellow soybean paste
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tbsp
oyster sauce
1 tbsp
fish sauce
Your own market
2 tbsp
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Set a wok over the highest available flame and leave it until it begins to smoke, because a wok that has not reached full temperature will steam the vegetables rather than sear them. Add the oil and swirl to coat. The oil should shimmer and begin to smoke within seconds — if it does not, the wok is not yet hot enough; wait.
2
Add the garlic and fresh chillies, tossing them continuously against the wok surface for no more than 15–20 seconds, so their raw edge burns off and their fragrance opens immediately rather than turning acrid from overcolouring. They should colour at the edges and release a sharp, roasted note — not a slow sweat.
3
Add the tao jiew, oyster sauce, and fish sauce directly to the wok and stir once to combine with the aromatics, so the sauces hit the metal and begin to caramelise rather than simply warming through. They will bubble and tighten against the surface within seconds.
From the canon — Tao jiew (Thai yellow bean sauce) is fermented whole soybeans in salty brine — a Chinese-origin condiment fully integrated into the Thai pantry and used in a… Tao Jiew — Thai Fermented Soybean Paste / เต้าเจี้ยว →
4
Add the morning glory stems first, then the leaves immediately after. This is where the dish lives or dies: the wok temperature at the moment of the vegetable's addition must be at its absolute maximum and must remain so throughout, because the morning glory releases water continuously, cooling the wok — toss without pause, ensuring every section contacts the wok surface in sequence, for the full 2 minutes of cooking. The vegetable is done when the stems are just tender and the leaves have wilted to a bright, vivid green — not a collapsed grey-green, which signals a failed wok temperature.
5
Transfer immediately to a plate so the morning glory does not continue to cook from the residual heat of the wok. The finished dish carries a faint char at the leaf edges and a clean smoke note. Serve at once.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Morning glory harvested same-day from a wet market, stems still turgid and snapping cleanly; tao jiew from a small-batch Thai producer with visibly whole or half-crushed beans.
02
Estate — Morning glory purchased that morning, stored dry and unrefrigerated; imported Thai tao jiew of consistent fermentation quality.
03
Market — Morning glory from a general Asian grocer, used within 24 hours; standard commercial tao jiew from any reputable brand.
04
House — Morning glory that has been refrigerated and shows slight limpness — the wok heat will still cook it, but the snap and sweetness of a fresh stem cannot be recovered. Acceptable; not ideal.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The wok smokes before the oil is added — a dry, ashen smoke rising from the metal itself.
◇Sound. A sharp, sustained hiss on contact when the morning glory hits the wok; a soft, muffled sound indicates insufficient temperature.
◇Sight. Leaves wilt to a bright, vivid green within 2 minutes; any shift toward grey-green is the signal that wok temperature has been lost.
◇Smell. A clean smoke note — wok hei — present in the finished dish, distinct from the smell of steam or boiling.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish is decided by the wok temperature at the moment the morning glory is added: maximum heat must be sustained without interruption for the full 2 minutes, or the vegetable steams grey rather than sears green.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Non-alcoholic
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
Americano — Burundi Kayanza (Gatukuza Women Group)
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Not yet stocked in British Columbia
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance