Before I came to the United States, I’d known okra as lady’s fingers.
I was in primary school in Malaysia when my English teacher first taught us the name of the different vegetables. The strange and awkward name of lady’s fingers deeply imprinted in my mind even though I didn’t like them back then.
In high school, I slowly learned to appreciate okra or lady’s fingers, especially when my mother made sambal okra. I started to love the slimy and sticky texture and its beautiful shape when sliced in pieces. Most of all, I loved the delicious good taste. I eventually fell in love with okra…(get sambal okra recipe after the jump)
Here is a simple sambal okra recipe that I absolutely adore. The addition of dried shrimp adds depth to the taste structure of this simple but scrumptious dish.
Ingredients:
10 Lady’s Fingers
Spice Paste
5 Dried Red Chili (soaked and remove seeds)
5 Fresh Red Chili (remove seeds)
2 cloves Garlic
10 Shallots
1 tsp Belacan/Shrimp Paste (toasted)
1 tbsp Sugar
20g Dried Prawn (soaked and pounded)
Method:
Bring water to boil, add in the whole lady’s fingers and simmer until cooked. Remove from the wok, chop away ends and cut into strips, set aside.
Heat up your wok, pour in 5 tablespoons oil, sauté the spice paste until aromatic with lower heat .
Add in dried shrimp, stir-fry until fragrant. Dish onto the cut okras/lady’s fingers, or return okras/lady’s fingers to the wok and toss together. Serve hot.
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
oh…yummmmmmyyyyyy…i love anything added with sambal! especially the ladies finger add sambal, simple, fresh, and so freakin good!:-)
I know, can also add little shrimp meant for cooking vegetables. So yummy!
I love okra, and I can totally imagine how good this sambal okra is! Beautiful shots!
You should try.
I used to hate okra as a kid and we use the cut portion as a stamp for art projects. :d I love them now and with this sauce, I’m sure I would eat more okra.
Divina – yes, I remember that art project!!! I loved it because okra was the prettiest. I love okra too, wish I eat more but the okra here in the US is short and so expensive!
hi Bee, you got this uncanny knack of making us drool with your picks.
can i marry you and cook all these fantastic dishes at home????? i’ll promise not to be like Tiger Woods!!!!
i to go weak in the knees with okra in fish curry, the nasi kandar kind. not blanched okra and then served with curry when required….gotta be okra boiled and steeped in curry….
Teng, you are too funny! Haha, yes, nasi kandar fish curry with okra is the best!!!
Simple and delicious it looks great!
Right on. :)
Simplicity at its best!! love love this recipe… blanched okra with sambal or even sambal belacan is definitely a winner…
I agree.
Here in the Philippines, we serve okra in a similar manner. We use bagoong, which is the Filipino *wet paste* equivalent of of belachan. Except that, we don’t add as much chili.
Do Malaysians cook okra the same way as Filipinos–that is, when we cook rice, and the rice is almost done, we put the raw okra on top of the simmering rice. By the time the rice is cooked, so is the okra, and we serve everything with shrimp paste. It’s the quickest Filipino meal anyone can make–and it saves on cooking time, because it’s all done in one pot :p
A – you are right. Yes, I remember seeing my mother cooking okra on top of the rice. In fact, she cooked a lot of things that way, also great for reheating food. :)
I like okra in curry. My grandma used to cook a ’special’ sauce for us to dip in too. Don’t remember the recipe since it was a long time ago…but it has something to do with ‘assam’. Maybe you know it or you can come out with one? :-)
I think I know what you are talking about. My mother made an assam-flavored dipping sauce too, with tamarind juice, shallots, and shopped chilies. You reminded me of something that I had almost forgotten, thank you!
I have to thank you for the amazing recipes that you have on your website. I tried your crab recipe and I absolutely LOVE it and made it 3 times already.
The okra was one of my favourite vegetables when I was a kid back in Mauritius Island. Here in Montréal it’s pretty rare but I recently found it at this asian grocery store and I was in heaven!
I’ll definitely give it a try! Thanks a bunch for sharing all those yummy food with us! :)
Karren – glad that you love my recipes. Good luck making okras.
how to i pick fresh young lady fingers?
Young lady’s fingers should look…well, young. The color is lighter green.
WOW! I love your recipe. Its a MUST try. Thanks.
Thank you.
if the ends break easily ,then it is considered young
Hi,
I’d tried yesterday. taste really good!
My hubby also love it!
Thanks for trying the sambal okra recipe. :)
Okra has always been a favorite delicacy in my place. We eat it with other treats! Love your blog!
Thank you, I love okra too but in the US, they are very expensive plus they are not always that fresh. I miss the lady’s fingers (okras) in Malaysia.
a simple special sauce for steamed okra.. pound taucheo (salted yellow beans) & fresh garlic together, squeeze in fresh lime juice, add sliced cili padi (or just red cili) & sliced fresh shallots..and sugar for taste( to take off the saltiness of the beans)..really yummy for ladies fingers! enjoy
Elena – you are right. My late mother used to make it that way. Yummy. So appetizing.