Sauteed okra Topped with Shiitake Mushroom Curry

A quick and easy way to prepare okra without making it mushy.

Usually, I just throw all my veggies together to make a giant pot of curry, but this time, I really wanted the okra to shine. I came across WoonHeng’s spicy okra recipe and decided to adapt her cooking technique to make a new recipe. The final dish was incredibly tasty and filled with South Asian flavors. Best part was that the okra stayed crunchy, which added yet another layer of texture to this quick and easy meal.

As you can see, I topped the dish off with a TON of culantro. Yes, cUlantro, not cIlantro. If you're not adding herbs to every meal, what are you doing?

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Ingredients

• avocado oil

• 1lb okra, halved lengthwise

• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 scallions, chopped (green and white parts separated)

• 1 carrot, diced

• 1 bell pepper, diced

• 1 jalapeno, diced

• 3 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed caps diced

• 1 cup culantro, chopped

• 1 tbsp curry powder

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1-3 tsp cayenne powder (depending on how spicy you like it)

• 2 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1 tbsp tamari

• 1 tbsp rice wine

• 1/3 cup full-fat coconut milk

Directions

1. Heat and liberally oil skillet over medium-high heat. Add in okra and stir-fry for 5 minutes until softened. Remove from heat and transfer okra to an ice bath. Let sit in ice for for 5 minutes and transfer to plate.

2. Heat and oil the same skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee garlic and white parts of scallions until garlic browns and bit and scallions soften. Add in all other ingredients, but reserve green parts of the scallions and half of the culantro for later. Let the mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes to allow vegetables to soften and sauce to thicken.

3. Remove curry mixture from heat and pour over okra on serving plate. Serve hot and top with remaining scallions and culantro. Enjoy!