"I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought to be told." -Mark Twain









8.13.2010

Ladies' Fingers...The Deep-Fried way

One of the best things about summer are the tastes that come with the season.
In that regard, okra is one of the favorites in my family.
For those of you that don't get to enjoy okra, you are missing out on a wonderful vegetable!
Okra is originally a West African food.  It can be prepared several different ways.  One favorite among people is to pickle it. I've never even tried it that way, so I can't speak for it. I can only attest to frying the okra.
The smaller the pod, the more tender the okra usually is. If you let the pod get too big, it is too tough to even cut. I have had okra that is deep fried whole, but we prefer it cut up, breaded and deep fried.
I make an egg and milk bath and coat my cut up okra.  Then I usually coat the okra in cornmeal.  BUT lately, I have been using something different. While cornmeal was good, I don't think it holds a candle to this idea: After the milk/egg bath, I coat the okra in Jiffy cornbread mix.  I have also used a brand I found at Wal-Mart called Texas Sweet Cornbread Mix.
Sorry for the blurry pic! The grease was hot and I was hurrying!!
The sweet flavor either of these cornbread mixes gives the okra is just unbelievable. 
I usually deep fry the okra, or pan fry it. You can see how delicious it looks. I like to add garlic salt and onion salt (to taste) as well.

Add okra to other summer-fresh deliciousness and you have a meal for a king. Or a queen!!
And where does the title of the blogpost come from? Well in West Africa, okra was frequently referred to as "ladies' fingers"!  Now you know!
I have linked this delicous secret to frying great okra to Gollum at Foodie Friday.

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous8/13/2010

    Dang you are a good cook!!! Hope your school year goes well for you Lori. I know you are a wonderful teacher and your students are blessed to have you.

    xo
    LeAnn

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  2. Lo,
    The pics remind me of Grandmother's house. Remember how we would run in and eat, and run out to play again?
    LY

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  3. I LOVE okra! ('course there's not much that can be breaded and fried that I don't like.)
    I like it hot out of the pan or cold for breakfast the next morning. I'll even eat it like popcorn for a snack.

    If you grow your own, try red okra. It can grow bigger before you cut it without getting tough and still tastes great.

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  4. I love okra too. Thanks so much for the cornbread mix trick - I can't wait to give it a try!!

    Great pics too.

    :)
    ButterYum

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  5. Your okra looks so good, I haven't had any in a long time...think I need to add it to my menu soon!

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  6. You don't see fresh okra here in the Midwest too often but if I do find it, I'm trying this recipe! It looks wonderful.

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  7. It sure looks good! I love okra but have only had it in gumbos!

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  8. Anonymous8/20/2010

    I love fried okra and never thought about using cornbread mix. Great idea! By the way, someone once told me to soak the okra in milk before coating to remove any unwanted stringiness. It works.

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  9. I am now craving okra after reading your post. I have always loved okra prepared any way. I think today I may visit our local farm stand and make some fried okra. Great idea using the Jiffy mix. I'll have to try that. I also found it very interesting that okra originally came from Africa. I never knew that.

    Carolyn/A Southerners Notebook

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