Sambal okra is one of the very few okra dishes that I like because the okra doesn’t taste slimy in this dish which I think is the main reason why many people don’t like this vegetable. I realised on a previous occasion when I was making a salad with okra (see Okra Salad Recipe) that if there’s a lot of liquid (sauce or gravy) in contact with the sliced okra, you might just end up with a gooey mess. Of course that wouldn’t happen if you use okra in whole. This time I had borne in mind that my sambal paste had to be as dry as possible (with less oil which makes it less unhealthy too!). It didn’t take long to stir fry the okra and the end result was a plate of perfectly tender crisp okra with a spicy sambal. No slime at all. So for those non-okra fans who are contemplating to include okra back into your diet, why not give this recipe a try? 🙂
Sambal Okra Recipe
Ingredients (serves 2-3)
250g okra, sliced
2 red chillies
2 tsp dried shrimp paste (belachan), dry toasted on frying pan
2 tsp dried shrimps, soaked in water, rinsed & patted dry
1 tsp sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tbsp sunflower oil
Instructions
1. Combine chillies and dried shrimp paste in a food chopper and process till fine.
2. Heat oil in pan and pan-fry the dried shrimps till golden brown and fragrant.
3. Add the chilli paste from Step 1 and fry till fragrant.
4. Add okra, sugar and salt and stir fry till the okra is tender crisp.
This looks amazing. Usually think of okra only as an ingredient in the South of the U.S. Love the colors here. Wanting to say thank you for stopping by my place at food for fun 🙂