Roasted Okra Recipe

INGREDIENTS FOR ROASTED OKRA

• Okra - For this roasted okra recipe, buy fresh okra and not pre-packaged or frozen ones. I have a brief guideline below on how to pick them at the supermarket.
• Oyster Sauce - there is no substitute for oyster sauce for this recipe. I use oyster sauce instead of soy sauce because of its viscosity - oyster sauce has a thicker consistency than soy sauce which sticks on as a glaze better. If you don't mind the extra work, you can thicken the soy sauce with a small amount of cornstarch slurry - just keep in mind that it will be a lot saltier than oyster sauce so you may need to add a bit more honey to balance the saltiness out.
• Honey - I use honey instead of sugar for this recipe because of viscosity as well. It also mixes more easily into the oyster sauce.

Xinjiang Spice Mix

This is my simple version of the famous Xinjiang spice blend which you can commonly find sprinkled on grilled lamb, kebabs and vegetables in Uyghur cuisine.

This spice blend has wonderful flavors with both Chinese and Middle Eastern influences and can honestly be sprinkled onto anything grilled and it would taste fantastic.

If you have furikake, you can use that instead of this Xinjiang spice mix. We also have a homemade furikake recipe made with homemade powdered miso and gochujang that you may like that also goes fantastic with this roasted okra!

HOW TO PICK OKRA

Whenever you buy okra, make sure you are buying them fresh and not frozen or pre-packaged. Frozen okra has been sitting in a enclosed plastic bag with ice crystals on them which means once they defrost, they will become slimy.

Here are a few things I look out for when I pick out my okra:

• Pick small and thin okra. Small okra is younger and more tender. They generally have less seeds as well which usually means it will be less slimy.
• Make sure the okra is firm, and not shriveled up or wrinkled. Shriveled and wrinkled okra means it has been sitting out for a while are are dried out.
• Make sure to the okra is not wet. Wet okra will not store as long, and will go bad quicker.
• Pick okra free of blemishes and holes. If you see a lot of blemishes or holes, it usually means it's been handled a lot or bugs have bore holes into it and might be living in it! ick.

ALWAYS KEEP YOUR OKRA DRY (MINIMIZES THE SLIME)

I know this sounds gross, but I generally don't wash my okra. I like to keep it completely dry before I cook it and I personally find that washing it (even after I dry it very well) still gives me enough moisture to make my okra slimy. The fresh okra I usually find are very clean as well and free of dirt so I'm okay with not washing it.

If you plan to wash your okra, make sure you dry it very well with a towel before you start cooking it to prevent the slime from forming.

To store okra, I find that the best way to do it is to keep it in a paper bag and keep in the fridge. The paper bag breathes, so it prevents condensation from forming in the bag which keeps them dry. They keep well for about 3-4 days in the fridge this way. You also don't want to wash them until you are ready to use them.

ROAST OKRA ON HIGHEST HEAT POSSIBLE

To minimize the slime, we don't want to give the okra a chance to produce it, so we want to cook these quickly on the highest heat possible.

The high heat will quickly char the okra and cooks it without letting the seeds instead steam within itself which forms the slime. The best part of the quick char is, the roasted okra maintains its fresh crunch as well.

You don't want to add the glaze on too early in the cooking process because the glaze has salt in it, and salt draws out moisture from the surface of the roasted okra which will make them slimy. Brush the thick glaze on at the very end right before you are ready to eat it and sprinkle the spice on for the added layers of flavor.