Stir Fried Spinach

Wash and rinse the spinach using tap water. You don't need to dry the water completely after washing; just drip water out -- a little bit of water on the leaves and stems of the vegetable is perfectly fine in stir fry. There is no need to cut the spinach, because the spinach leaf will shrink in half after cooking.

Second, if you like garlic in spinach, like the usual Chinese food of stir fried spinach, cut a garlic into thin slices using a knife, or grind the garlic in your favorite garlic grinder. Skip the garlic if you don't like it. Start the outdoor stir fry stove. Place the wok or frying pan over the flame. Wait a few seconds till the water (if there is any) in the wok or frying pan has evaporated under the heat.

Pour the vegetable cooking oil into the frying pan. If there is still water droplets in the wok or frying pan, the oil can splash out of the pan and onto your face and hands, and worst of all your eyes, so be very very careful! That's why it's important to make sure that the water has evaporated out of the frying pan before you pour the cooking oil into the frying pan.

Add garlic slices (optional). Before you do, wait for about 10 seconds till the cooking oil in the frying pan is fully heated. How do you tell if the oil is fully heated? By the light bluish fume of the oil -- if you see light bluish fume rising from the surface of the cooking oil (at this time the oil is about to decompose chemically and to evaporate), the cooking oil is fully heated, and it's time to add the garlic slices and the vegetable (in that sequence -- garlic first, then immediately spinach).

Add vegetable. Again be careful about hot oil which may splash out of the frying pan when you add garlic slice or spinach. By working fast, you will actually minimize the risk of hot oil splashing out of the frying pan. You will hear sizzling/cracking sound when the vegetable gets in contact with the hot cooking oil in the pan, and see white steams rushing out -- don't worry, this is the remaining, undried water from the washing of the vegetable.

Stir. Stir here means turn the vegetable from bottom to top so that each layer of the vegetable in the frying pan gets to be in contact with the bottom of the frying pan, where the heat is concentrated and where the cooking is really done. You'll see by looking at the spinach that the frying pan has different temperature "zones" or "layers"; by turning and stirring the vegetable, you distribute the cooking evenly. When you add vegetable to the hot cooking oil, the temperature of the frying pan will be lowered simply by the "cool" vegetables, which adsorbs most of the heat in the pan. You might want to turn the fire power on the stove to the maximum, so that you maintain the high heat in the frying pan.

While you are stirring, add salt (or garlic powder). When the spinach leaves gets soft and started to shrink (this happens in about a minute from the time you add the spinach to the hot frying pan) -- it's done! Turn off the heat, and remove the spinach onto a plate. Enjoy the fresh, healthy, and delicious stir-fried spinach!