Okra Fried Rice

You know what is clearly impossible to find in this town? Five-spice powder. Seriously people, I'm missing out on lots of cool recipes because of this lack of five-spiciness. I might be forced into some hardcore protesting outside my local grocery store when next I am unable to find said spice. But for now I'm going to live and let live, eat my okra fried rice and smile beatifically if anyone dares comment on it's lack of five-spiciness (as per the original recipe).

 

Now that I've got that out of the way, I can happily report that I did manage to find okra. Go Checkers! (We'll talk later about your lack of performance in the five-spice arena...)

I've never had okra before and I must admit I was rather curious to what it would taste like after reading various negative reports online regarding it's sliminess. My verdict? Not slimy! Okay that's not entirely true.  There is a slight gummy factor, but I wouldn't call it slimy per se. It adds a nice mouthfeel (oooh look I'm being all gourmet-y now) to the otherwise very mild taste that okra offers. To be honest, even after eating the okra fried rice, I would still be hard-pressed to describe to anyone what okra tastes like. Maybe I should try it unadorned next time? Any okra experts out there, this would be the place where you chime in and help me out of my okra ignorance. You will be rewarded* greatly!

Okra Fried Rice

Adapted from Cook It Simply

Serves 5 - 6 (as side-dish)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 large onion, finely chopped
100g okra, sliced into rings
1/2 large green pepper, finely chopped

100g cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (depending on size)

3 cups cooked brown rice

3 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh coriander, finely chopped

1. Heat the oil over medium to high heat in a fairly large saucepan, add the garlic and onion and saute for about 3 minutes or until starting to soften.

2. Add okra and greenpepper to the pan, and saute another 5 minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes and cook another 3 minutes until all the veggies are cooked through.

4. Add the cooked rice to the okra mixture, along with the soy sauce. Stir to mix and cook a further few minutes to heat through evenly.

5. Lastly, add the coriander, stir through and serve warm.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 163.0 , Total fat 3.6 g, Saturated fat 0.5 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.6 g, Monounsaturated fat 2.2 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 500.7 mg, Potassium 171.5 mg, Total carbohydrate 28.8 g, Dietary fiber 3.0 g, Sugars 1.0 g, Protein 4.1 g

Good source of: Manganese 55.3 %, Vitamin C 24.8 %, Selenium 15.3 %

*Note to self: Think of a great reward to offer Okra Experts