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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.