Chinese Okra

I talked in my farmer's market post about one of my favorite finds this year: Chinese okra.   In case you are lucky enough to come across these, I thought I'd share a couple of recipes.

The first thing to do, for both recipes is to trim the top, bottom and ribs off the okra:

This breakfast dish is the one the lady at the farmer's market suggested.  It's a light, fresh, way to start the day.

Chinese Okra Breakfast Scramble
1 medium sized Chinese Okra
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
2 eggs
olive oil
salt and pepper

Peel the ribs off the okra and chop into 1/2 inch cubes.  Cube the onion, and peel and thinly slice the garlic. Saute in a pan with a little olive oil until the okra is soft and the onion is browned.  Add eggs and scramble.  Season with salt and pepper as desired.  Yields about 3 servings.

It's terrific by itself or turn it up another notch with sweet, in-season tomatoes!

This recipe is very similar, but better suited for other meals.

Chinese Okra Sauté
1 medium Chinese okra
2 ears of corn
2 cloves garlic
1/2 medium onion
4 oz chanterelle or other mushroom
olive oil
salt and pepper
fresh rosemary

Peel ribs off okra and chop into 1/2 inch cubes.  Chop onion and mushrooms.  Cut kernels off corncob and thinly slice garlic. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and sauté garlic, onion, mushrooms, and okra until okra is softened and the rest of the veggies are slightly browned.  Add corn last and sauté quickly until corn is slightly toasted.  Season as necessary and top with a few fresh rosemary leaves.  Perfect for a side at dinner or all by itself for a light lunch.  Serves 4 as a side, and 1 as a generous main dish.

Review:
A little like zucchini, a little like a green pepper, not at all like okra that grows so well in the south, this little veg is sure to please.  If you find some at your local market, try it out and let me know what you do with it!