Okra in Ponzu Sauce
Here’s a super quick recipe for okra (lady finger) lovers. This okra salad in ponzu sauce is a popular side dish in a Japanese bento. The ingredients in this recipe are few and you can enjoy it chilled or at room temperature.
See Also:
This is my (almost-finished) bottle of ponzu sauce, which is actually soy sauce seasoned with vinegar and citrus (most commonly yuzu). It’s sour, sweet and savoury. While I mostly use it as a dipping sauce for shabu-shabu or Japanese nabe, this is another way of using it directly as the seasoning sauce in a dish. It’s fast and convenient for lazy noob cooks like me :P
Making this dish is too simple. After cooking the okra either by steaming or boiling, they are placed in a bowl of ice water to cool down (this retains the green hue and prevents yellowing). Slice the okra and toss with ponzu sauce. Garnish with some bonito flakes. This easy orka salad is ready in under 15 minutes.
This can be prepared in advanced and kept chilled in a food container in the fridge. Enjoy!~
Okra (Ladies Finger) in Ponzu Sauce
Keep this Japanese-style okra salad for a few hours and up to a day in a food container, chilled in the fridge.
To minimize the slime/stickiness, cut cooked okra to longer sections. But if you don’t mind the stickiness, it is okay to slice them thinly.
Ingredients:
- 150 grams okra (ladies finger)
- 2 tbsp ponzu sauce (yuzu or citrus soy sauce) add more to taste as desired
- ice cubes for cooling down the okra
- small handful bonito flakes for garnishing
Directions:
- Cook okra. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add okra and boil for 3 minutes. Drain okra. Alternatively, arrange the orka one layer in a steaming dish and steam over high heat for 3 minutes. Add cooked okra to a large bowl of ice water to cool down for a few minutes.
- Dress okra with ponzu sauce. Cut and discard the top and ends of each okra. Then cut to uniform slices. In a bowl, add cut okra & ponzu sauce, mix well. Chill in fridge for 15 minutes if serving cold.
- To serve, transfer okra to serving dish and top with bonito flakes.
Noob Cook Tip
Quick home-made ponzu sauce: Mix 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce with 1/2-1 tsp clear vinegar, 1 tsp mirin, a squeeze of orange juice and a few drops of lemon juice. Adjust the quantities accordingly to your preference.