Red Amaranth with Bacon and Onions

I do a lot of my grocery shopping at a local Asian grocery store. It has great selection of items that are not typically available at standard Canadian supermarkets. Among them are vegetables, namely greens. It is quite interesting to see the greens that are popular in different places around the world.

  • Rapini is a common green in Italy
  • Collard greens are popular in the southern United States
  • Callaloo is cooked in the Caribbean, Jamaica in particular.

One popular green in Chinese cuisine is called red amaranth. Sometimes called Chinese spinach, this leafy vegetable is vibrant green with streaks of reddish purple. They are great in a stir fry or soup. I prepared them using my typical recipe for collard greens and bacon, substituting the collard greens with red amaranth. The red amaranth is not bitter like  some other greens and has a wonderful sweetness. This is a great side dish packed with flavour and nutrients!

Pick the leaves off the larger stalk. The stalk itself is far too tough to eat.

The bacon and onion add a wonderful rich flavour to go with the red amaranth.

The red amaranth cooks very quickly, just like spinach. Once wilted, it is ready to serve.

Red Amaranth with Bacon and Onions

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Red amaranth fried with bacon and onions. Also called Chinese spinach, this dish is prepared in a way common with collard greens.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 8 bacon slices , diced
  • 1 large onion , diced
  • 3 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp dried chili flakes
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 large bunch of red amaranth

Instructions

  • Fry the bacon until just starting to brown. Do not let the bacon get crispy.
  • Stir in the onion and cook until the onion is soft and transparent.
  • Add the remaining ingredients, except the red amaranth.
  • Let the red wine vinegar boil off for a minute or so and the garlic to bloom.
  • Stir in the red amaranth and cook until it is just wilted. Do not overcook the greens.
  • Serve immediately.

 

 

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9 comments

  • This looks delicious! I’ve never tried red amaranth but there’s an Asian market right down the street, so I need to try this.

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  • Love this recipe. I had never heard (honestly) of Red Amaranth. I had to check it out. I probably would have to go to Orlando to find this (perhaps at Whole Foods). I just love the flavor combination. I often do something similar with Red Chard.

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  • Wow, Steve, I love this. Wonderful flavors that I am totally on board with!

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  • Nice to pop in here and find a delicious recipe as well as learn about produce. The bacon and onions do sound like a flavorful way to prepare some leafy greens-yum! I will be on the look out for red amaranth. Have a great day Steve!

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  • This look wonderful! I think about the combination with some yoghurt, i usually add it on red amaranth, it tastes nice.

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  • I love greens… but I have never eaten red amaranth. I shall keep an eye out for it in my local Asian store. There are SO many greens there that I have no clue on how to use. Now you’ve given me one to experiment with… great post! 🙂

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  • I’ve never seen red amaranth up here but I’m definitely going to look for it. The dish looks yummy.

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  • Never heard of red amaranth before … thx for elucidating 🙂

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  • this looks so good, and I am wanting it for breakfast!

    I love shopping in our Asian markets here, for the same reason – I can find more things, different things.

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