Little broke this month but got some garden-fresh okra from a coworker friend and fried it up tonight. It was so fucking good.
-edit: Added recipe in comments and now here as well! RECIPE (also I just made this up on the fly, but it worked out sooooo well!)
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- Batter: White flour (wheat), rice flour (white), uncooked grits.
- Seasonings: salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, powdered milk. Everything to taste, only a teaspoon of the powdered milk.
- Wets for batter: water, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, soy sauce. Only splashes of the wets.
- Dry dip: same as the batter ingredients, minus the wets.
- Fry oil: blend of vegetable oil, olive oil, and unsalted butter. Only a 4th of a stick, just for flavor addition.
- Cooking instructions: Wash and cut your okra, cutting into small to medium bite sizes. Dip in batter, dip in dry dip, plop into the fry oil and look for a golden brown color. Voilà! Serve hot. Recommended that for reheating use the oven and not a microwave if possible. Keeps it cripsy if reheated in the oven. Enjoy!
Okra is criminally underused. Swap peas for okra and you won’t go wrong. Or dry it for my new favorite chip. It’s sweet, has a texture just between smooth, creamy, chewy, and springy, cooks incredibly easily while fresh and dry, and it’s so cheap. Great to break up a dietary rut
Okra is not part of my local cuisine, so I know little about it, but the couple of times I had it it was a bit slimy. Is that normal? It was a bit off putting
Like a lot of things, it really depends on how it was cooked and if the person knew how to cook it properly.
A lot like mushrooms. Someone like my grandmother could do miracles with it, along side some pan fried catfish. But I wouldn’t really trust a restaurant to make it.
FWIW, the slimy texture comes from the mucilage, which is an adaptation to drought to help the seeds retain moisture. Unappetizing name, but it’s basically soluble fiber… that’s also vaguely sweet. You can soak it in vinegar and/or cook it quickly over high heat and that should reduce the sliminess to something not awful, and things like roasting will make it horrendous.
(Though it needs to be said, if you use okra in stews that horrendous mess turns into a thickener for the stew. It’s the traditional thickener for Gumbo, for example.)
The slime is good for you, high in fibre. I personally don’t mind it so I often eat okra raw dipped in some ranch or caesar. Roasting and cooking with tomatoes are a couple ways to get rid of the sliminess if it really bothers you.
If you like that slimy texture, you should try natto. It’s a very different texture and flavor than anything in this world, and nobody feels neutral about it (it’s either love or hate).
I like mine with soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onions
Personally, I like mine with green onions and chopped raw garlic and whatever mustard/sauce packet it comes with. My friend had a “Slime on Slime on Slime” version where he put raw egg, steamed okra, natto, and various veggies in a big bowl and just slurped it down. I tried it once…it was good, but yeah even for me that was a bit much.
I don’t know why someone is downvoting you but it’s not me. I’ve had natto and raw egg on rice, okra and natto together but never all 3, that sounds like a frothy slimy mouthful.
If you steam it or stirfry it it is slimy, but that’s what i like about it. If you stirfry it the slime also keeps the flavour which then coat the okra, making the whole thing flavourful.
Curious as a to roughly what part of the world you’re in? In the UK here and I love Okra, but the main reason I rarely buy it is because it’s always really expensive where I find it. Honestly if I can find a good source of it I’m gonna have the best time.
In the US and occasionally Africa/South America. Yeah, you’re not going to find it as cheap in Europe. The climate’s just not suited to it. Also cheap in SE Asia, but I’m very out of date there
I absolutely love the stuff and grew up on it! I’ll definitely have to try out the other methods for sure
When you do, please post it!! I need recipe ideas and you’ll be my absolute favorite person for 12+ hours
You bet! When I get outta work I’ll put it here in the comments and update the main text too!
❤️
- Batter: White flour (wheat), rice flour (white), uncooked grits.
- Seasonings: salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, celery salt, powdered milk. Everything to taste, only a teaspoon of the powdered milk.
- Wets for batter: water, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, soy sauce. Only splashes of the wets.
- Dry dip: same as the batter ingredients, minus the wets.
- Fry oil: blend of vegetable oil, olive oil, and unsalted butter. Only a 4th of a stick, just for flavor addition.
- Cooking instructions: Wash and cut your okra, cutting into small to medium bite sizes. Dip in batter, dip in dry dip, plop into the fry oil and look for a golden brown color. Voilà! Serve hot. Recommended that for reheating use the oven and not a microwave if possible. Keeps it cripsy if reheated in the oven. Enjoy!
grits
Oh my god, you’re a genius!! I’m gonna make this (albeit with some changes to accommodate for food allergies) asap.
Perfect! Glad to share a recipe :) and thanks haha
Bro it’s slimey
Soak in buttermilk for 30 minutes and don’t overcook it.
If it’s slimy, it’s either not fresh or prepared improperly. Phrased another way, skill issue
Its been too goddamn long since i’ve had good fried okra.
crunch and delicious on the outside, with a gooey flavor pop in the middle.
unnngggg…
Cute enough to eat!
Fun fact; for the longest time I thought okra was just a made-up word for the cover of Ege Bamyasi by Can.
I’m weird, I know.
Deep fried okra is a side dish at many restaurants here in NM.
I like it, but I don’t each such food anymore.
Another good reason to visit 😁
What is NM?
North Makota
New Mexico
did u bake or fry?
Deep fried! It’s just on the pan for the sake of putting them aside as I fried them lol
It’s about the only way I like okra aside from in stew-like applications. We use rice flour and potato starch with salt, pepper, and whatever else we’re feeling
I miss fried okra, it was an absolute stable back in Appalachia. I used to get it as a side dish everytime we went out for Lunch on Sundays. Thank you for the recipe, I’ll be trying this out most definitely!
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