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Delicious 10 minute take on a soul food staple featuring no slime okra and tomatoes prepared with one of the most simple cooking methods to allow the okra's natural flavor to shine augmented with lime and fresh mint.
We eat okra in so many different ways in my house. But I understand not everyone is as enamored with them, and for me this is because of the infamous slime character they possess. I'm no fan of the slimy either and if you've read previous posts you'd know I'm a texture guy.
Okra doesn't have to be slimy. This blistered okra and tomatoes recipe relies on skillet pan frying the okra in hot oil which makes it crispy, not slimy. Trust me on this. High heat, no liquid cooking nukes the slime away. If you've ever made blackened fish or chicken, it's a similar process.
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Ingredients for Blistered Okra
- Whole okra pods
- Cherry tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Fresh mint
- Lime juice
- Salt and pepper
Blistered Okra Instructions
Rinse the okra pods and dry them thoroughly. The dryer the pods the better for blistering and 0 slime factor. You want as little to no moisture in the cooking process.
Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil. Give the pan a nice swirl to ensure the oil coats the entire bottom of the pan. Once the oil starts to shimmer a bit you're ready to go.
Add the okra and stir quickly to make sure all sides get coated with some of the oil. Cover and continue cooking shaking the pan often to move the pods around inside. You'll want to cook until the okra begins to brown around the edges. This should be between 8-10 minutes.
Add tomatoes to the pan with the okra about 5-6 minutes into cooking.
Add the freshly chopped mint, lime juice, and seasoning just before serving.
Cooking Considerations and Tips
Blistered okra is an excellent intro to soul food fare like okra or another quick, cool way for fans to enjoy these grassy pods.
Beyond fixing the textural issue, blistered pulls out the okra's natural flavor and makes it amenable to additional flavors such as the fresh mint and lime juice that brighten the dish and add those herbal and citrus notes.
For seasoning, salt and pepper work well, but this holds up and is enhanced by most spice mixes such as a sazon or cajun/creole.
The finished pan-fried okra and tomatoes are a delight to eat. The okra are crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside, without any gumminess at all. The tomatoes are only slightly wilted so still possessing some tight skin which means there is a bit of an explosion in your mouth when you bite down into them.
After you've made these, if you're cooking for others, don't be like me and sample one before serving. I tried one and almost ate the entire pan before the kiddos walked in and joined me. It was a feat just to successfully preserve some pods for the Queen okra lover, my wife.
Cooking Tips
- Trim off and discard the stem ends of the okra, if you like. Also feel free to roughly chop the okra. If you prefer to cook the pods whole, choose smaller ones to cook.
- To help avoid slime factor - rinse the pods and dry them thoroughly. Any extra water in the cooking process will lead to sliminess.
- Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil, swirl the pan to coat the bottom with the oil, and heat until the oil shimmers, about 30 seconds.
- Add the okra, stir to coat it with oil, cover and cook, shaking the pan frequently to move the okra pods around inside, until the okra is starting to brown on the edges and is tender to the bite, about 8 minutes.
- Add tomatoes to the pan with the okra 5 minutes into cooking the okra. The tomatoes will add some brightness and their acidity will not contribute to any sliminess.
- Add freshly chopped mint, lime juice and seasoning just before serving. I tend to avoid adding any salt early in the cooking process as salt draws moisture to the surface which can lead to a somewhat soggy texture vs. crispy crunchy. Mint surprisingly is a good compliment to okra's grassy flavor.
- Don't underrate the impact of quality tomatoes. I used recently picked ones bought at my local farmer's market.
MORE OKRA RECIPES
If you make this simple and quick 5 ingredient blistered okra and tomatoes soul food recipe, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback. Definitely take a photo of the dish and be sure to tag #foodfidelity so that I can see them.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb okra whole,
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes whole
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon fresh mint chopped
- 1 lime juiced
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- To help avoid slime factor - rinse the pods and dry them thoroughly. Any extra water in the cooking process will lead to sliminess.
- Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil, swirl the pan to coat the bottom with the oil, and heat until the oil shimmers, about 30 seconds.
- Add the okra, stir to coat it with oil, cover and cook, shaking the pan frequently to move the okra pods around inside, until the okra is starting to brown on the edges and is tender to the bite, about 8 minutes.
- Add tomatoes to the pan with the okra 5 minutes into cooking the okra.
- Add freshly chopped mint, lime juice and seasoning just before serving.
Notes
- Trim off and discard the stem ends of the okra, if you like. Also feel free to roughly chop the okra. If you prefer to cook the pods whole, choose smaller ones to cook.
- To help avoid slime factor - rinse the pods and dry them thoroughly. Any extra water in the cooking process will lead to sliminess.
- Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil, swirl the pan to coat the bottom with the oil, and heat until the oil shimmers, about 30 seconds.
- Add the okra, stir to coat it with oil, cover and cook, shaking the pan frequently to move the okra pods around inside, until the okra is starting to brown on the edges and is tender to the bite, about 8 minutes.
- Add tomatoes to the pan with the okra 5 minutes into cooking the okra. The tomatoes will add some brightness and their acidity will not contribute to any sliminess.
- Add freshly chopped mint, lime juice and seasoning just before serving. I tend to avoid adding any salt early in the cooking process as salt draws moisture to the surface which can lead to a somewhat soggy texture vs. crispy crunchy. Mint surprisingly is a good compliment to okra's grassy flavor.
- Don't underrate the impact of quality tomatoes. I used recently picked ones bought at my local farmer's market.
moopbrown
Sunday 1st of July 2018
You're welcome, and you're right its sper easy and there is little cleanup
moopbrown
Sunday 1st of July 2018
Thanks for your comment, and you're exactly right.