Stir-Fried Red Amaranth Greens/Chinese Spinach with Garlic (Xian Cai, Ang Tsai)

We used to grow red amaranth back home in Taiwan and mom would always make a simple saute of them with a bit of vegetable oil, minced garlic and salt. The pigments from the greens would create a beautiful purple-red sauce that Elaine and I loved to mix with white rice to give it a quasi-psychedelic hue (think jacked-up spinach). Amaranth greens are readily available here in SoCal at many Asian markets (e.g., 99 Ranch Market) and can also be easily grown from seed. This particular home-grown batch came from my co-worker's garden - thank you, Stan the Man! 

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of red amaranth greens
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)

Separate the leaves from the main stems.

Rinse the amaranth leaves and shake dry.

Minced garlic.

Saute the minced garlic in some vegetable oil until fragrant.

Add the washed amaranth greens.

Season with a pinch of salt.

Add a little water and cook until the greens are wilted.  

Serve with steamed white rice.