Yam Leaves with Dried Shrimp (蝦米蕃薯葉, Haa1 Mai5 Faan1 Syu4 Jip6)

Yam leaves, also known as sweet potato leaves in the USA, are available in your local Asian market. I actually was looking for another vegetable when I saw very fresh yam leaves on sale, so I changed my plans and bought the yam leaves instead. When I first cooked yam leaves, I made the mistake of not separating the leaves from the stems. If you just cook yam leaves whole (like spinach), the stems will be undercooked and the leaves will be overcooked. Also the thicker bottom portion of the stems need to be discarded since they are tough and will never become tender when cooked. How much of the bottom portion of the stems to discard will depend upon how young and fresh they are when you purchase them. Finally, the volume of the leaves will decrease dramatically and quickly when cooked, so don’t be alarmed if it looks like the amount of uncooked leaves won’t fit into the wok.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Yam leaves (蕃薯葉, faan1 syu4 jip6), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
1.5 oz.	45 g.	Dried shrimp (蝦米, haa1 mai5) – ½ package
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
4 cloves	4 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
		Oil for cooking

 

Equipment

14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Pour just enough boiling water to cover the dried shrimp in a small heat proof bowl and rehydrate the shrimp for at least one hour. Remove the shrimp from the rehydration liquid, press on the shrimp to remove most of the water, and set aside in another small bowl. Removing as much water as possible from the rehydrated shrimp will make stir frying easier. Add the Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry into the bowl with the shrimp rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
2. Wash and cut the yam leaves into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. Separate the stems from the leaves and discard the lower 2-3 in. (5-7.5 cm.) of the stems. This is necessary because the thicker part of the stems are tough and will not become tender when cooked. The stems also take longer to cook than the leaves, which necessitates their separation.
3. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and before adding oil. Add the dried shrimp to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. Set the dried shrimp aside in a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the bowl with the ginger and garlic. Quickly stir fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant before adding more oil and then the yam leave stems. Stir fry the yam leave stems to brown them.
3. Add the yam leaves and the contents of the bowl with the dried shrimp back into the wok, and stir fry all the ingredients together. The volume of the yam leaves will decrease dramatically and quickly when stir fried.
4. Add the liquid from the bowl with the shrimp rehydration liquid to the wok and stir fry the ingredients together. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.