How do you use okras?

[Caribbean girl]

I am interested in finding out how everyone here uses okras. Sometimes I would steam them with other vegetables. However, the main way we use okras here in our country is to make a local dish which we call cou-cou.

The okras would be cut up into very small pieces. They are boiled in salted water and strained off.

Water is boiled and put aside. Cornmeal is used to make the cou-cou. The cornmeal is measured out in a cup. The amount depends on how many people it is being prepared for. I usually use one cup of cornmeal.

The cornmeal is added to a pot with a small amount of boiled water and stirred over a low heat. More boiled water is then added and the stirring continues, adding the boiled water bit by bit, until the cornmeal is cooked. The okra water which was strained off from the okras is then added to the pot and stirred in, still over a low heat. Then the okras themselves are added to the pot and stirred in. All this stirring is done with what is called a cou-cou stick.

No water is left in the pot when the cou-cou is finished. It is cooked until it gets to the right constituency, and then left for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving. This is a dish that goes well with all types of fish, but is also good with beef stew.


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[winterybella]

My mouth is watering but the Cou cou in the picture is missing loads of gravy/sauce. I must have sauce swimming to truly enjoy mine. Caribbean girl, can you make Cou cou? If you can, I have the greatest respect for you. I always say I can't hang up my cooking gold medal until I make my National dish of Cou cou and Flying Fish. I can't say I can't make it as I have never tried. The whole stirring and stirring has always been a big turn off for me. I used to travel every Saturday to my mom's house just to get my Cou cou. Now I hear it is being made in the microwave, but I am not having it.

Cou cou aside, let me talk about the okras. I stem my okras a lot as it is quick and easy. I used to do a stir fry that was super delicious as was a dish I do with salt fish. I am the kind of person that when I find a recipe I like I work it until I am tired. Here's my most recent recipe that I have over worked. As with most things it was well received,

http://localfoods.about.com/od/sidedishes/r/okratomatoes.htm

 

[Caribbean girl]

My mouth is watering but the Cou cou in the picture is missing loads of gravy/sauce. I must have sauce swimming to truly enjoy mine. Caribbean girl, can you make Cou cou? If you can, I have the greatest respect for you.

Yes, I too love my cou cou swimming in gravy. I usually add a lot of gravy, and then when I am almost finished eating it, it still calls for more gravy.

I have been making cou cou now for quite a few years. I learned how to make it by watching what my mother did. I am usually satisfied with the way it comes out. When I first started to make it, I was a bit skeptical as to whether it would pass the grade, but I must admit that the first time I made it, I was quite pleased with myself. I don't like the idea of having it made in the microwave, however.

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

In our country we also steam our okras and then dip them in soy sauce with lemon as its sauce. Sometimes we include okras when we sauteed garlic and onion to vegetables like squash, string beans, tomatoes and pork together in fish sauce. This is just a simple vegetable dish with okras in our place that compliments well when we are eating fried fish.

 

[winterybella]

I have been making cou cou now for quite a few years. I learned how to make it by watching what my mother did. I am usually satisfied with the way it comes out. When I first started to make it, I was a bit skeptical as to whether it would pass the grade, but I must admit that the first time I made it, I was quite pleased with myself. I don't like the idea of having it made in the microwave, however.

It's really great you can make Cou cou. There are lots of adults who can't make it well and have tried. It has to be of the right consistency and free of LUMPS. It's only with this dish that I don't mind a slimy okra. One of the methods I referred to earlier involves stir frying with soy sauce like ReadmeByAmy mentioned. I add garlic and onions.

 

[Berties]

not a big food in the uk ,we know them as lady fingers ,i have deep fried them in tempura batter and served them with a dipping sauce ,not a big fan of them steamed or boiled,have cooked them in a spiced tomato sauce with Mediterranean herbs,and curried them

 

[tipoywizard]

Okra..... My mom loves to include this one in her vegetable stew. Sometimes she just steam this one and eat it together with shrimp paste. However , I admit that I have not develop a taste for this type of veggies.It is so sticky.

 

[winterybella]

Okra..... My mom loves to include this one in her vegetable stew. Sometimes she just steam this one and eat it together with shrimp paste. However , I admit that I have not develop a taste for this type of veggies.It is so sticky.

I was just going to ask about that slimy/sticky feel in the stew. Sometimes I'll add them to a soup for a sick person and it's nice and slippery going down the throat. Clearly I like that soup dish as well. I have also found they sit well with some white rice and almost any kind of stew. Everyone in my house loves them.