Sunday 5 April 2009

Okra (Ladies Fingers/Bhindi) with Belachan


Belachan (shrimp paste) is a spicy and essential Asian flavour. Okra’s texture is excellent with belachan! Spicy and very satisfying served simply with hot steamed rice. An easy dish to prepare with a straightforward recipe.

PREP TIME 10 Min
COOK TIME 15 Min
READY IN 25 Min

SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: Serves 2-3 with other complementary side dishes

INGREDIENTS
12 ladies fingers or okra, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Taho brand belachan chilli (2 flat tbsps)
2 shallots, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS
1. Firstly, heat up 1 tbsp cooking oil in a wok or pan. Saute the garlic slices until fragrant.
2. Add the onions and fry till the onions turn translucent.
3. Add the belacan. Stir-fry briskly. Add in the okra slices and about 4 tbsps water. Stir-fry till cooked. Serve hot with rice.

TIPS
Note: Taho brand is sufficiently spicy - be sure not to be too generous with the belachan or you could end up making repeated trips to the toilet ;)! If you will like to make your own belachan you can do so - simply make the 2 tbsps belachan by instead pounding 1 tbsp belachan, dried red chillis and shallots with a mortar and pestle.

If you will like the okra softer (instead of crunchy), simply prepare thinner slices of okra so that they cook faster and get softer within a shorter time. For a less oily dish, simply add more water, close the wok with a lid and let the okra simmer to perfection.

NUTRITION FACTS

Okra is considered to be a healthy food which is good at reducing sugar in the blood.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you happen to know of a plact in the United States where I can buy the Taho brand of Belchan Chilli? I have a friend who LOVES this make and I can't seem to find it here!

Thank you so much - this sounds delicious!

The Cook said...

Hi there, I am from Singapore, not the US. Which part of US are you from? If you are in New York, I reckon you should be able to get Belachan (perhaps not Taho brand, but will do anyway) from one of those specialty shops selling Asian foodstuffs.