Spicy Oven Roasted Okra Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do you put vinegar in okra? ›

Lemon juice, chopped tomatoes, vinegar, or a splash of wine will not only add depth to your recipe, but it will also lower your slime quotient. A vinegar bath also does wonders to reduce the slimy consistency. Before cooking, soak the pods in vinegar for 30 minutes to help break up and dissolve the slime.

Cooking okra over high heat is absolutely the best way to prepare it. And when it comes to heat, deep-frying is definitely hot! A deep fryer is ideal for frying okra because it allows you to set and regulate an exact frying temperature.

Some African cooks, she said, go in the other direction, adding baking soda (which raises pH to a more alkaline level) to okra soup to augment its thickening effect.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven and stir well. Reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Re-cover and cook another 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until okra slime has disappeared.

One popular way to reduce okra's sliminess is to "soak it in vinegar for 30 minutes [before cooking with it], which helps to break up and dissolve the slime," says food scientist, food industry consultant, and author Bryan Le.

When you are ready to cook the okra, rinse it well under cool running water, then pat it dry with a towel or paper towel before cutting into it. To trim okra, slice off the top stem end where the okra was snipped off the plant. Make sure not to cut into the body of the seed pod and release the mucilage yet.

Okra is low in calories but packed full of nutrients. The vitamin C in okra helps support healthy immune function. Okra is also rich in vitamin K, which helps your body clot blood. Antioxidants are natural compounds that help your body fight off molecules called free radicals that can damage cells.

Nearly half of the fiber in okra is soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of heart disease. Insoluble fiber, also found in okra, helps keep the intestinal tract healthy, can help relieve constipation and may decrease the risk of colon cancer.

Okra is rich in magnesium, folate, fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins C, K1 and A. It may help support healthy pregnancy, heart health, blood sugar. it may even have anticancer properties.

Okra - removing fuzz

Cover the okra lightly in salt and rub all over gently to remove the fuzz. This will make the color more vivid and soften the texture as well.

Can you eat okra raw? ›

If that's not to your liking, okra can be eaten raw, pickled, fried, succotashed, roasted, grilled, crisped to shards, or cooked an infinite number of ways that celebrate all that's special about this vegetable, and it freezes gorgeously to boot.

But when prepared or cooked properly, the okra actually has a mild flavor that some say tastes like the eggplant. Its texture though is very different simply because it is more fibrous and tender if picked at the right time. The slime that it has will also make the vegetable have a silky texture on your tongue.

The short answer is no, you don't have to soak it before cooking, but some recipes suggest soaking the okra in a vinegar mixture to reduce sliminess. To soak okra, pour 125ml (1/2 cup) vinegar into a bowl. Add 500g okra (the ratio of vinegar to okra is 125ml vinegar to every 500g okra). Turn the okra to coat.

Okra is a nutritious vegetable that can be cooked by boiling or frying. Regardless of your cooking method, wash and slice your okra first. You can boil okra in slightly salted water. You can coat okra in cornmeal and then fry it in a frying pan.

Roast okra is a healthy snack alternative to the fried version, although it does have quite a few uses in the kitchen! Turn it into a variety of other dishes like stuffed peppers, gumbo or even Spanish rice to add a nice roasted flavor. Most commonly though, they're great as a starter, side or delicious snack!

One popular way to reduce okra's sliminess is to "soak it in vinegar for 30 minutes [before cooking with it], which helps to break up and dissolve the slime," says food scientist, food industry consultant, and author Bryan Le.