Soak, boil, and drizzle! This easy boiled okra recipe is my way of eating okra with a spicy, savory sauce. Follow this recipe to learn more about tips and tricks in cooking okra and dipping sauce alternatives.
What To Know About Boiled Okra
Okra is a green vegetable packed with essential nutrients, including polyphenols, magnesium, folate, and vitamins A, C, and K, to name a few. It is also called lady’s fingers and is recognizable for its green fuzzy skin and pods carrying white edible seeds. You can cook okra in many different ways, from boiling to stir-frying (such as stir-frying Okra and Egg Recipe) and steaming.
It is well known for its silky, slimy interior and crispy exterior when eaten. The taste is mild, grassy, sweet, and somewhat similar to eggplant. You can eat this every day and enjoy its health benefits, from lowering cholesterol levels to reducing inflammation and managing blood sugar.
Serve this as an appetizer, side dish, or light snack. Eat it warm when freshly cooked or cold after refrigerating. If you love easy-pour recipes like this, then you should also try these:
- Spiral Cucumber Salad
- Steamed Cabbage Rolls
- Healthy Malabar Spinach With Oyster Sauce
- Blanched Bok Choy With Vegetable Sauce
- Stir-Fried Bok Choy And Mushrooms
- Quick & Easy Yu Choy Sum
Tips And Tricks For Boiled Okra
To achieve the most delicious taste and texture of okra, follow my tips and tricks below. I share my top recommendations on which okra to buy, how to prepare it, sauce serving suggestions, and many more. Don’t skip this section, especially if it’s your first time cooking okra.
Which okra is best to buy?
- I always recommend buying fresh okra to get the best taste. Frozen okra is an option, but nothing beats the quality taste and texture of fresh okra. Okra is typically available in grocery stores and local supermarkets. Choose fresh bright green okra that is slightly firm without soft spots or blemishes. I recommend picking smaller pods since bigger ones are going to be slimier.
How is okra prepared?
- For this recipe, I prepared the okra by chopping off the caps and slicing it in half lengthwise. However, you cook it as is without chopping if you prefer to prepare it faster. To cut the okra, chop off the hard ends first starting from just below the cap.
Can the slimy texture be removed?
- Some people like the slimy, gooey texture of okra. If you are not a fan of this texture, there are a few tricks to removing the slimy texture. The first tip I share is to soak the okra in vinegar for about 30 minutes before boiling it. This helps dissolve the slimy substance. After soaking, use a paper towel to dry the okra and remove excess vinegar.
- Another basic step that helps reduce the slimy texture is cooking the okra at high heat, whether it is boiling or frying.
- Lastly, boiling then soaking the okra in cold water helps remove a bit of the slimy texture as well. You can also put it under running cold water instead of soaking it. This tip is not only to remove the slimy texture, but to stop the okra from further cooking.
Why is okra cooked with salt and oil?
- I boiled the okra with salt and a bit of oil. If you don’t know yet, cooking it with salt and oil helps retain the okra’s vibrant green color. If you don’t mind the color fading, you can boil the okra as it is without salt and oil. Adding salt to the water also seasons the okra for extra flavor.
Why soak okra with salt?
- Before boiling the okra, I soaked it in salt and water first. Soaking in salt is mainly for removing the fuzzy spines. This also helps draw out a bit of the slime for a crunchier texture.
How is boiled okra served?
- Let me share with you my favorite way to serve boiled okra with a spicy and savory sauce. My sauce is a mix of chopped green onions, garlic, red peppers, light soy sauce, and hot oil. I poured the sauce over the boiled okra for a rich, saucy dish.
- Green onions: Green onions add a mild sweetness and onion taste. If you prefer, you can substitute this with chives, shallots, white onions, yellow onions, or red onions.
- Garlic: Garlic adds a nutty and pungent flavor to the sauce. The garlicky flavors can be achieved by substituting 1 clove of garlic with 1/8 tsp of garlic powder or 1/4 tsp of granulated garlic if you don’t have garlic. You can also use pre-cooked garlic, such as my Crispy Fried Garlic.
- Red peppers: I made the sauce hot and spicy with chopped red peppers. You can opt not to add this if you can’t tolerate spicy flavors. If you don’t have red peppers, you can substitute them with chili flakes, chili powder, or cayenne pepper powder. Another excellent way to make the sauce spicy is using chili oil. You can also make your own with my easy-to-follow chili oil For a quick and short chili oil recipe, follow my Szechuan dumpling recipe in which you will need 3 ingredients: chili flakes, white sesame seeds, and hot oil.
- Light soy sauce: The sauce takes its salty, deep, umami flavors from the light soy sauce. You can use dark soy sauce as a substitute and adjust to taste since dark soy sauce is thicker and a bit sweeter. Other options include tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce. If you prefer to have a dipping sauce instead of pouring the sauce over the okra, you can use a mix of light soy sauce and wasabi.
- Hot oil: To partially cook the ingredients and enhance the flavor, I added a drizzle of hot oil. Opt for oil with a high-smoke point to reduce the amount of oil oxidized and to withstand heat longer. Oils with a high smoke point are avocado, peanut, canola, and corn oil. Go for olive, avocado, sesame, or safflower oil for a healthier oil. Use peanut, soybean, or vegetable oil for a neutral-tasting oil. For a taste of Asian and storing nutty taste, use sesame oil.
- You can alter the taste of my sauce recipe by adding optional ingredients, such as black vinegar, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and chili oil. Instead of pouring the sauce, you can simply make it as a dipping sauce instead. Use my sauce ingredients above or alter it with the following ingredients below.
- Chinese black vinegar: Soy sauce is best paired with vinegar, such as Chinese black vinegar, also known as Chinkiang vinegar or Zhenjiang vinegar. This type of vinegar adds a fruity, tangy, and slightly sweet taste to the sauce. You can get this in Asian supermarkets or in the international section of grocery stores.
- Oyster sauce: Oyster sauce is similar to the flavors of soy sauce and barbecue sauce. It is umami with a caramel-like taste. You can substitute oyster sauce with hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, oyster-flavored sauce, or fish sauce.
- Sugar: You can balance out the flavors with sugar if you prefer. You can use any type of sweetener, including white sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, or coconut sugar.
How can okra be stored?
- Keep the okra in an airtight container to preserve its quality and freshness. You can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Ingredients And Kitchenware To Prepare
Prepare a knife and chopping board to chop the ingredients and a heat-resistant bowl for the hot oil-based sauce. Use a cooking pot or pan to boil the okra and a bowl for ice water. The ingredients to prepare are the following:
- 500g of okra
- 1 tbsp of salt (for soaking)
- 1 tbsp of salt (for boiling)
- 1 tbsp of oil
- Ice water
- 1 tbsp of green onions
- 1 tbsp of minced garlic
- 10g of shredded red pepper
- 1/8 cup of hot oil
- 2 spoons of light soy sauce
How To Make Boiled Okra With Spicy Savory Sauce
The recipe steps are easy and can be done in less than 30 minutes. Simply soak, boil, rinse, and cut the okra. Then, pour the spicy, savory sauce and enjoy it while hot! Check out the detailed steps in my Instagram or TikTok tutorial video.
Do you have your own version of this recipe? If yes, share them below in the comments section. Remember to snap a photo and share your recipe by tagging me @kitchenmisadventures.
- Add a spoonful of salt to the okra and soak in a bowl of water for 10 minutes.
- Boil water in a pot, add a spoonful of salt and oil, then add the soaked okra.
- Blanch the okra for 2 minutes.
- Remove the okra after 2 minutes and cool in ice water. Drain the water from the okra.
- Once the okra is cool to touch, cut off the heads and slice the okra in half lengthwise. Set aside and place it on your chosen serving plate. Make sure the plate is heat resistant to withstand the hot sauce.
- Prepare the sauce. In a bowl, mix chopped green onions, minced garlic, and shredded red peppers.
- Heat oil in the pan. Once hot, pour the hot oil into the bowl and add two spoons of light soy sauce. Stir well. You will know the oil is hot when it starts to smoke and sizzle.
- Drizzle the sauce over the okra. Enjoy this okra recipe on its own or with hot rice, Chinese sausage fried rice (lap cheong chow fan), tofu with minced pork & mushrooms, veggie balls, or seaweed egg drop soup.
Boiled Okra With Spicy Savory Sauce
Ingredients
- 500 g of okra
- 1 tbsp of salt for soaking
- 1 tbsp of salt for boiling
- 1 tbsp of oil
- Ice water
- 1 tbsp of green onions
- 1 tbsp of minced garlic
- 10 g of shredded red pepper
- 1/8 cup of hot oil
- 2 spoons of light soy sauce
Instructions
- Add a spoonful of salt to the okra and soak in a bowl of water for 10 minutes.
- Boil water in a pot, add a spoonful of salt and oil, then add the soaked okra.
- Blanch the okra for 2 minutes.
- Remove the okra after 2 minutes and cool in ice water. Drain the water from the okra.
- Once the okra is cool to touch, cut off the heads and slice the okra in half lengthwise. Set aside and place it on your chosen serving plate. Make sure the plate is heat resistant to withstand the hot sauce.
- Prepare the sauce. In a bowl, mix chopped green onions, minced garlic, and shredded red peppers.
- Heat oil in the pan. Once hot, pour the hot oil into the bowl and add two spoons of light soy sauce. Stir well. You will know the oil is hot when it starts to smoke and sizzle.
- Drizzle the sauce over the okra.
