Pak Grachet

Unpeeled pak grachet (water mimosa)

This is an interesting, leafy vegetable that is common around Thailand but I’ve never seen elsewhere. In English it is called water mimosa (sometimes water minosa), and in that it is called pak grachet [ผักกระเฉ] or pak runawn [ผักรู้นอน]. The pak grachet name seems to be much more common. It is one of what I consider the three common leafy vegetables of thailand, the others being morning glory (pak boong [ผักบุ้ง]) and kale/chinese broccoli (pak kana [ผักคะน้้า]).

Anyway, this vegetable is aquatic and grows along ponds or near rice paddies. It basically floats on the tops of the water with long stems that can reach to the bottom. It is fairly tedious to prepare. In the first picture you can see how it looks when freshly picked or purchased at the market-covered with a white, foam-like skin which needs to be peeled of and then the gra chet can be broken into pieces. The skin is quite thick so it probably loses half its weight by the time you finish peeling. Afterwards, it can be eaten raw with chili dips, but I believe it is more common to simply stir-fry it with some chilis and garlic. It ends up being a crispy, crunchy, tasty meal.

Water mimosa after peeling

Closeup of the pak grachet