Sambal okra is one of the best okra recipes which feature the healthy vegetable, along with shrimp and sambal sauce. It is an absolutely delicious meal, especially when savoured with rice.
Okra, or ladies’ finger, is actually a plant in the mallow family and the edible green seed pods have tiny hairs on the surface. After okras are cooked, they become sticky.
In southern US, fried okras are also quite popular and here in Asia, okras are used in a variety of curries and stir fries.
Here’s a simple recipe to make a 50-calorie serving of okra sambal.
Ingredients
- 10 fresh okras (ladies fingers), sliced diagonally
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 5-6 shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 5 fresh red chilies, blend them
- 1 teaspoon toasted Belacan, Malaysian Shrimp Paste
- 1 red chili, sliced
- cooking oil
- salt to taste
Method
- Heat up a wok and add the cooking oil.
- Stir fry the garlic and add in the shrimp.
- Add the okra (ladies’ fingers), blended chilies, toasted belacan and salt.
- Stir fry for a few minutes until the okra becomes sticky and cooked.
- Toss in some sliced chili, dish out and serve hot.
This recipe can be found in Rasa Malaysia..
Low Bee Yinn is a food blogger and cookbook author.