This simple and graceful okra dish is easy to make. It's refreshing on hot days and showcases the wonderful flavors and texture of fresh okra. All we do is boil the okra and then toss with a mixture of soy sauce and grated ginger. It's great at room temperature and excellent chilled. Enjoy this as a side dish with a bowl of rice. Super ono!
Why This Recipe Works
During extra hot summer weeks, we like to prep many recipes that are best enjoyed cold. That way we can just take them out from the refrigerator anytime we're hungry and tadah, breakfast/lunch/dinner is served!
This simple okra dish is at the top of the list (along with somen salad, which is a very popular local Hawaii dish of chilled noodles).
This okra recipe calls for just three ingredients: okra, ginger, and soy sauce.
It is super simple and tastes wonderful. We boil fresh okra for a minute or two (more or less time depending on the size of the okra). Then we toss it in a mixture of fresh grated ginger and soy sauce.
That's it! It really is that easy.
You can eat the okra as soon as you finish making it. Or you can chill it in the refrigerator and eat it cold. Sometimes I even eat this for breakfast straight from the refrigerator haha.
We serve this primarily as a side dish. We eat it with rice and another "main" dish. Scroll to the bottom of this post for many easy main dish pairings.
I can go through pounds of okra with this recipe, I love it so much.
Okra
Okra is such a wonderful and versatile vegetable (though it technically categorized as a fruit!) It has a reputation for being sticky and slimy, but honestly that is part of the appeal.
There are hundreds of ways to cook with okra. Fried, stewed, sautéed, you name it.
We are big fans of okra in Hawaii! You can find okra at our local farmers markets and supermarkets and it shows up in many local recipe books.
Remember this Boiled Okra recipe? That recipe was our very first okra recipe (there will be plenty more to come in the next few weeks). Boiled Okra is delicious and healthy. We joke that this is our version of "okra sashimi" because you dip the okra in soy sauce and wasabi like sashimi ^_^
Today's recipe is like a variation on the Boiled Okra recipe. Instead of dipping the okra in soy sauce, we slice the okra in half and toss/marinate it with ginger and soy sauce.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make okra and ginger soy sauce:
- Fresh okra - Feel free to use green or purple okra. There was only purple okra at the market the day we visited so we used purple okra. Interestingly enough, the purple okra turned green after we boiled it!
- Ginger, grated - Using fresh grated ginger is most key.
- Soy sauce - Depending on what brand of soy sauce you use, you can use a little more or less. In Hawaii, there are two main brands. Aloha is less salty and Kikkoman is more salty.
Let's get cooking ^_^
Step by Step Directions
See direction with photos below. We also included a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Cook the okra.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the okra and boil* for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Rinsing under cold water will help stop the okra from cooking any further. That is important because we don't want overcooked okra.
*Boil for a little more time if the okra is on larger side, and a little less time if the okra is on the smaller side.
Trim and cut the okra.
Trim off the tops of the okra. Then slice each piece in half on the diagonal. If you have a super big okra, you can also cut it into three pieces. If you have really small okra, you can leave it whole.
Make the ginger soy sauce.
Combine the freshly grated ginger and soy sauce together in a serving bowl and mix.
If you like things more gingery, feel free to use more ginger. If you want more soy sauce, use more soy sauce. This recipe is super flexible and can be easily catered to your taste preferences.
Mix the sauce and the okra.
Add the okra into the bowl and gently mix until all the okra is lightly seasoned with the ginger and soy sauce.
Eat and enjoy.
Eat right away or refrigerate and serve chilled. Either way is delicious!
FAQs and Tips
Best enjoyed the day it's made, but it will keep in the fridge up to two days. Make sure to store it in a sealed container.
We enjoy okra and ginger soy sauce as a side dish, so we always eat this with rice and at least one or two other dishes. Here are the ones we like to pair with it:
- Chicken Long Rice
- Garlic and Fish Sauce Eggplant
- Shoyu Chicken
- Furikake Salmon or Miso Salmon
- Seared Duck Breast
- Hot Sesame Oil Tofu
- Shoyu Hot Dogs
Make sure to try our 10 minute recipe for Boiled Okra.
Okra and Ginger Soy Sauce Recipe
See below and enjoy ^_^
Okra and Ginger Soy Sauce
This simple and graceful okra dish is easy to make. It's refreshing on hot days and showcases the wonderful flavors and texture of fresh okra. All we do is boil the okra and then toss with a mixture of soy sauce and grated ginger. It's great at room temperature and excellent chilled. Enjoy this as a side dish with a bowl of rice. Super ono!
Ingredients
- 1 pound okra
- 1-inch knob ginger, grated
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the okra and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water (this will help stop the okra from cooking further).
- Trim off the tops of the okra. Then slice each piece in half on the diagonal.
- Add the grated ginger and soy sauce together in a serving bowl.
- Add the okra into the bowl and gently mix until all the okra is lightly seasoned with the ginger and soy sauce.
- Eat right away or refrigerate and serve chilled. Either way is delicious!
Mahalo for Reading!