Southern Dinner
This meal kind of blew up on me. At first I was like, oh, we have some okra! I should make fried okra. Then, gee, wouldn’t mashed potatoes be nice with that? And then I had to make gravy, too. What about cornbread? That sounds nice! But, oh, I need more greens. I guess I need to make collards, as well!
See what I mean? Blew right up.
While not one of my healthier meals, it was downright delicious. The fried okra was really fun, especially because I had never had it before. It was quite easy to make, but boy did it fry for much longer than I expected! I thought it’d be done in 3-4 minutes, but I left it in for probably 10, maybe 15, and it was perfect that way.
Fried Okra
Serves 3-4 side dishes
3 Cups Chopped Okra, frozen or fresh (I used frozen)
1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Cornmeal
2 tsp Old Bay
2 tsp Soymilk
All Purpose Flour
Peanut Oil for frying (or other high heat oil)
Heat 1/4″ to 1/2″ oil in a large skillet, I used my cast-iron pan. Mix cornmeal and Old Bay together. Defrost or slice your okra (1/2″ pieces) and place in a large bowl. Toss with soymilk. The okra should get kind of sticky, but the you shouldn’t have a pool of soymilk at the bottom. Drain it out if you do.
Add cornmeal mixture to okra and toss. If still moist, add all purpose flour by the tablespoon full until each piece is coated and relatively dry. Remove one piece of okra and put it in the oil to test the temperature. It should bubble up immediately, but not go totally crazy and begin to scorch. Adjust heat accordingly.
CAREFULLY dump all the okra into your oil, being careful not to splatter hot oil everywhere. DO NOT TOUCH or mix it for a few minutes. Then, gently turn over the pieces. All sides should be brown, and it should be very crispy. You can test the okra by removing one piece. Mine took about 10-15 minutes.
Remove and drain on a paper towel. Serve immediately, with ketchup if desired!
11 comments May 9th, 2007
