Fried Okra has been a staple in my family for over a hundred years. It’s a North Carolina tradition. When I was a young boy, my grandmother, Mama Ida, made Fried Okra for me every time I visited. She chopped whole okra pod into ½-inch slices, rolled them in corn meal and fried them in a hot skillet. We still enjoy okra that way, but recently I have been frying whole okra rather than the chopped variety. It is infinitely easier and almost as good.
This spring I planted 12 okra plants from pots I had started indoors. They were slow to develop, and the cucumber vines quickly overwhelmed the young plants. I saw two little okra plants barely peeking above the cucumber jungle and figured that was all I’d get. But as the hot weather rolled in, six okra plants took off. They are now producing well, and we have been enjoying lots of Whole Fried Okra.
The secret is in the breading. I have been using Louisiana Seasoned Crispy Shrimp Fry batter mix. I first used it on fresh shrimp, and they turned out as good as Fried Shrimp from Basnight’s Restaurant in Nags Head. The breading clung to the shrimp and was delicious. But the package also said it was great with vegetables. I tried it with the whole okra pods, and it is out-of-sight good.
Simply mix 5 T breading with ½ C water. Let it rest a few minutes, then dip the pods in the breading, coat them thoroughly and deep fry in a pan with a couple inches of Wesson Oil. They cook up nice and brown in about 5 minutes and the okra is simply delicious. I believe that even folks who don’t like okra would enjoy this recipe.
I haven’t seen this mix in stores, mine came as a gift from a friend in Louisiana, so I ordered several bags from Amazon. Louisiana also makes a Crispy Chicken Breading which is easier to find in stores. That would probably also do the job, but I haven’t tried it yet.
14 or 16 whole pods of okra (for two)
5 T Louisiana Crispy Shrimp Fry breading
½ C water
2 C Oil (or enough for 2-inches in a pot)
