Vietnamese Okra- “Dau Bap” recipe

Vietnamese okra- “Dau Bap” recipe PLUS tips on how to get your okra super slimy and full of the good mucilage.

I just picked up my Asian CSA yesterday and I was so excited to see okra on the list! Okra, aka lady fingers, contain pods that are “mucilaginous,” which results in a super slimy texture when cooked.

This “mucilage” or slime is a debatable matter. Some folks either enjoy this gooey texture and others just hate it for that same reason.

I love this texture and it’s actually quite difficult to find a recipe or tips on getting okra more slimy (there’s hundreds of recipes to negate or eliminate slime and there’s absolutely nothing on enhancing the slime factor).

Okra’s mucilaginous properties has been touted with soothing the digestive tract, improving detoxification, blood sugar balance, and cholesterol balance.

*If you know you don’t like the slime texture, feel free to boil okra’s whole (do not cut in half), and only boil til a little fork tender, don’t cook these too long. You can also cook these alternately by cutting and then flash frying these on a pan to reduce slime factor.

TIPS FOR MORE SLIME!

Okra actually becomes slimy when it touches water aka “roping”. The gooey substance aka mucilage, flows within the plant’s leaves and surrounds the seeds in its pod and to further activate the mucilage, we can try the following techniques:

*Wash okra to activate slime

*Heat activates the thickening of mucilage so we’ll want to cook it longer than normal

* Cooking okra slowly on low heat will also bring out maximum mucilage content.

*Add salt to boiling water to draw out more moisture in the okra

INGREDIENTS

6-10 okras

3 garlic gloves

1 fresh Thai chili pepper

1/2 long sweet chili pepper

2 tablespoons YOU YOU (or neutral oil)

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1/2 tsp rice vinegar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp white pepper

PREPARATION

1. Wash, drain, and trim off any long okra stems (you can also remove the tops completely but I like it for aesthetic purposes and I don’t like wastage).

2. Cut all okra in half. Split each okra pod into half lengthwise then boil until your desired slime level is achieved. Using a pair of chopsticks, remove and transfer split okra pods on serving plate and set aside.

3. Peel, smash and mince the garlic gloves. Cut and mince all the chili peppers. Place minced garlic and Thai chili peppers into a small heat proof bowl and set aside.

4. Then heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a small sauce pan at medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, glassy and thin (right before smoking), remove from heat and immediately pour over your minced garlic and chili peppers mixture. Mix thoroughly then mix in light soy sauce and rice wine. Taste, add fish sauce, salt, sugar, or black pepper to taste.

5. Garnish with a little black pepper or some fresh chili slices.