Kangkong substitutes

The best match available, because it copies what kangkong actually is rather than what it tastes like. Spinach gives you the mild grassy leaf and bok choy stems or celery give you the snap that survives the cooking. Nothing else reproduces both halves.

Best for

adobong kangkong, sinigang, stir-fries with garlic and shrimp paste, sautes, noodle soups

Prep

Slice the stems thin on the bias and give them 2 minutes in the pan first, then add the spinach and cook only until it collapses.

Spinach is more mineral and slightly more astringent than kangkong, which is milder and faintly sweet; a squeeze of calamansi or lime evens it out. Celery brings its own aromatic note, so bok choy stems are the cleaner choice if you have them. Slice the stems no thicker than a quarter inch or they stay raw while the leaves overcook.

The closest single vegetable. It has the same two-part structure as kangkong, crisp watery ribs and soft leaves, and it wants the same stems-first treatment, so recipes translate directly with no rethinking.

Best for

stir-fries, sinigang and other sour soups, adobo-style greens, noodle soups, steaming

Prep

Split lengthways, separate ribs from leaves, cook the ribs for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the leaves for the last minute.

It tastes distinctly of cabbage, sweeter and more mustardy than kangkong's plain green flavour, which is noticeable in a delicate broth. The ribs are flat and solid rather than round and hollow, so they crunch instead of giving that faint squeaky pop kangkong stems have. Baby bok choy is milder and closer.

The best flavour-and-structure compromise in a Western supermarket. Watercress has slender stems that genuinely stay crunchy in hot liquid, which almost no other leafy green manages, plus small leaves that wilt fast.

Best for

sinigang, tinola and other clear soups, quick stir-fries, blanching

Prep

Trim only the toughest stem ends and add the whole thing to the pot in the last 60 seconds.

It is peppery, and that pepperiness is the one thing kangkong does not have, so a soup made with watercress tastes brighter and slightly hotter at the back of the throat. In a sour sinigang that works well. In a garlicky adobong kangkong it competes. It also cooks much faster and will go limp if you leave it in the pot.

Sold in the same markets as kangkong and one of the closest leaves in taste: mild, soft, faintly earthy and quick to wilt. If you are shopping somewhere that carries Filipino or Chinese greens, this is often the easiest find.

Best for

monggo, sinigang, clear soups, sauteed greens

Prep

Strip the leaves and tender tips from any thick woody stems and add them all at once, 2 minutes before the end.

The leaves are right and the stems are wrong. Amaranth stems are soft and collapse completely, so the dish loses all of kangkong's crunch and reads as a soft green stew. Red-stemmed varieties also bleed a purplish colour into a clear broth. Add a handful of sliced celery or water chestnut if the crunch matters.

Structurally a good analogue: broad soft leaves plus thick stalks that stay firm through cooking. Very widely available, and it holds up in a long-simmered dish better than spinach does.

Best for

braised greens, sinigang, monggo, sauteed with garlic

Prep

Cut the stalks away, slice them ¼ inch thick and cook them 3 minutes before adding the shredded leaves.

It tastes earthy and faintly beetroot-sweet, which is a long way from kangkong's plain grassiness, and rainbow or red chard will tint a pale broth pink. The stalks are fibrous rather than juicy, so they crunch drily instead of releasing water the way hollow kangkong stems do. Use white-stemmed chard if you can choose.

The honest least-bad single swap, and the one most people reach for. The flavour is genuinely in the right neighbourhood, mild and green, so a soup or stir-fry will taste correct. The texture is simply not there.

Best for

sinigang, monggo, quick sautes, when it is the only green in the shop

Prep

Add it off the heat or in the final 30 seconds, and do not stir it more than twice.

Spinach collapses to a small fraction of its raw volume and there is no crunch anywhere in the finished dish, which is the main reason a spinach version of adobong kangkong feels wrong. Use half again as much by weight to end up with a similar amount on the plate, and accept a soft dish. Mature bunched spinach holds up better than baby spinach, which turns to slime almost instantly.