10-minute appetizer! Simple and fresh. Boil okra and dip in soy sauce and wasabi. Wonderful served hot or cold. A delicious and healthy snack.
Boiled Okra
Hooray for okra! We love okra's crisp texture and sweet flavors.
Boiled okra is one of the most delicious, healthy, and simple ways to prepare okra.
How to cook okra? You just boil it in water...that's it! To eat, dip the okra in a mixture of soy sauce and wasabi (the same combo used for sushi and sashimi). You can use chopsticks but I just use my fingers. It's like dipping fries in ketchup.
You can serve boiled okra as an appetizer, light lunch, or afternoon snack. It's always a good time for okra in my books ^_^
Why This Recipe Works
This recipe is straightforward. It's so easy that writing down a recipe seems kind of silly hahah (kind of like how I felt about Tuna Rice!)
Think of this more as a method. The flavor and texture of okra is so unique and special - we want to keep it as simple as possible so instead of dicing, stewing, sautéing (all of which are delicious!), we just boil it for 3 minutes.
Boiling it? That's it? Yes!
But where does the flavor come from? How to season okra? Good question ^_^
We salt the boiling water, so there's a little saltiness from that.
We also dip the boiled okra in soy sauce and wasabi right before eating. That's plenty of flavor right there!
Cooking okra at high heat (and quickly running it under cold water after draining) also helps to remove some of the sliminess that people associate with okra.
This is also a good dish to prep ahead of time (assuming you serving it the same day) because the boiled okra is tasty at all temperatures. It's is wonderful hot, right after you finish cooking.
It is also very good served cold, after you refrigerate it for at least an hour. We call that "sashimi-style". Eating the okra cold is refreshing on hot days.
I often prepare boiled okra as an afternoon snack, and munch on it while working at the computer ^_^
Ingredients
- Okra - Fresh okra, plain and simple. In Hawaii we can buy fresh and locally grown okra at supermarkets and local farmer's markets. What a treat! The okra in this recipe is from Ho Farms (find them at the Kaka'ako Farmers Market).
- Salt - We use Hawaiian sea salt because that's what we have on hand, feel free to use any type of salt. It is just to salt the water.
- Soy Sauce - Kikkoman and Aloha are our two go-to brands.
- Wasabi - Always optional, but a definite must for us. Wasabi and okra go so nice together ^_^
Step by Step Directions
This recipe is so simple. Just boil, dip, and eat.
Wash and clean the okra. Drain and set aside.
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the salt, and stir to dissolve. Slide the okra into the pot.
Boil the okra for 3 minutes. Quickly drain and run the okra under cold running water for a few seconds.
Tip: Running the okra under running water is important to help remove some of the "sliminess" that people associate with okra.
Arrange the okra in a single layer on a plate. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi for dipping.
How to eat the okra? Just pick up a piece and dip it in the soy sauce and wasabi mixture (like you're dipping a piece of sushi or sashimi).
Excellent served hot or cold ^_^
FAQs and Tips
2-3 days in the fridge. It is best enjoy the day you make it.
I love okra. People who don't like okra often say that it is slimy. I wouldn't call okra slimy...okra definitely has a gooey stickiness to it, but it's one that I find very enjoyable. It's similar to how natto fans love the texture of natto!
Plus this method of boiling and then quickly running under cold running water helps reduce a bit of that slimy texture. Basically any form of cooking okra at very high heat helps reduce some of that sliminess (you can even deep-fry okra, so delicious!)
When serving this okra dish for dinner, I always pair it with a big bowl of rice and one or two other dishes for the table. A few go-to recipes:
- Spam Fried Rice
- Kalua Pork and Cabbage
- Gau Gee
- Stuffed Tofu
- Local-Style Chicken Tofu
- Teriyaki Meatballs
- Yang Chow Fried Rice
- Chinese Sausage Over Rice
- Misoyaki Butterfish
Boiled Okra Recipe
See below and enjoy ^_^
Boiled Okra
A 10-minute appetizer! Simple and fresh. Boil okra and dip in soy sauce and wasabi. Wonderful served hot or cold. A delicious and healthy snack.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces okra
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon wasabi (optional)
Instructions
- Wash and clean the okra. Drain and set aside.
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the salt. Add the okra.
- Boil for 3 minutes. Quickly drain and run the okra under cold running water.
- Arrange okra on a plate. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi for dipping.
- Delicious hot or cold (we call that "sashimi-style")!
Hi Kathy: I too love okra. I don't know why, but I always have. I guess I learned to eat okra as a kid. My mom and dad grew it in their little garden at home. My Mom used okra a lot in soups, and also made a lot of okra tempura. I loved it. You can find okra in lots of dishes in the South where it is very popular, but not so much in the west here. But I find deep fried okra sometimes at either BBQ joints or fried chicken places. I have try boiled okra -- I don't think I ever had that.
Hi Alan! Some of our friends recently started growing okra...excited to pick our own soon. LOVE okra tempura, got cravings now! Bonus is that it's also so healthy (minus the deep fried part heheh)
- Kathy