Last summer my mom let the wild purslane in her backyard garden to grow as they please.  And now they have started to sprout all around the yard.  And lucky for me since now I can make purslane salad.

The taste is similar to water spinach, but with a crunch from the stalks.  For more flavor, try steaming it lightly.

So here’s my take on another fresh summer salad.  It’s pretty much made with all the stuff from the garden.  Except for the walnuts and dressing.

The fresh ripe apricots adds a bit of sweetness.  While the plums gave it some tang.  The greens were mostly purslane and a few baby broccoli.

Dressing is simple using rice bran oil and apple cider vinegar.  Along with Himalayan salt and ground black pepper.

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Water spinach goes by many names. Including Chinese water spinach, Chinese morning glory, and bindweed. In Singapore it’s called “water convolvulus”, a bit of a tongue twister. In Lao and Thai it’s called “Pak Bong”. The scientific name is Ipomoea aquatica.

Water spinach grows well emerged in water and also likes to live on land in wet to moist beds. They grow as a trailing plant. This photo shows kids hanging from water spinach.

Photo from Chinese Vegetable Seeds, UK.

Water spinach has always been one of my favorite Asian vegetables. Water spinach is rich in iron and provides a good source of vitamin A and dietary fiber.

They are easy to eat as they are not bitter. The hallow stems are crunchy making it perfect for sautéed in a light cooking oil. But it’s also good eaten raw as a side dish with other main dishes.

Ponds of water spinach during the summer is something neat to see as they start to have white morning glory like flowers.

Water spinach are now available at most Asian market. The leaves are dark green and shaped like arrow heads. They are sold in huge bunches either by the weight or individually.

I’ve heard that the local water spinach farmers use too much pesticides. And this makes me think twice about buying them unless I know where it comes from. So it’s probably best to try to grow your own water spinach.

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Recently I saw a beautiful flowering plant at Target’s garden center and recognize the leaves right away. Growing up , I remember seeing these plants grow all over our backyard.  Except these had more colorful and pretty flowers.

Photo of “Purslane:  Portulaca Umbraticola”.

My dad was the one who first told me these are edible herbs.  They are really a succulent herb as the leaves are fleshy.  Dad said purslane are great for joint health too.  I also remember my dad and I collecting the purslane from the yard. We gave them to mom to wash and she prepared them for dinner. We had steamed purslane with grilled meat and hot sauce.  I thought the purslane was a bit slimy (but not strange slime). It was actually very good.  It had a lemony-tart taste and the leaves were fleshy.  But since then, I really haven’t had any purslane at all.

This is the type of purslane we had for dinner. They are considered to be weeds.  Photo from Calfora.net

Purslane is known throughout most of the world as both a beneficial and tasty plant.  And it can be eaten raw too.  But in the U.S., they consider it a weed and appropriately named it “pigweed” or “hogweed”.  I think that is just too bad!  In California, they also consider it an invasive plant.  I really don’t think it’s a problem, as you can always pull them out once it gets out of control.  And it’s not full of spike or has strange smells either.  Just bring on some hungry goats to clear them out!

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