Abra-ca-pickle, you asked about okra, and ta-da okra pickles! We were scratching our heads about this funky veggie that makes its debut between Summer and early Fall. We pondered the basics, fried or in a stew? Gumbo or soup? But, so boring. Delicious…but so cliche. We wanted to wow you and give you a sassy side dish with our taro burgers and sweet potato fries. And like a lightbulb, pickles popped into my mind and Whitney made it happen.
After much research we found out a few tried and true okra rules to live by. First, make sure you use young, smaller-sized okra which are more tender when cooking. Larger okra becomes woody and tough and not so fun to chew on.
Second, pickle your okra whole. These buggers are known for being slimy, but only if you cut them, so make sure the jar you use is tall enough for your okra! By pickling them whole you let the vinegar work it’s magic and cancel out any sliminess. Yay for science!
Remember, never settle on being medi-okra! Try these pickles with our Taro Burger Sliders and Sweet Potato Fries for that extra wow factor during lunch or dinner.
Okra Pickles
Ingredients:
- 10 Okra pods, young and tender
- ½ C. White vinegar
- 1 C. Water
- 2 tsp. Hawaiian salt
- 2 cloves Garlic, smashed
- 1 tsp. Sugar
- 1 Tbs. Pickling spice (sweet Christmas flavor) OR 1 Tbs. Dried dill weed (Dill pickle flavor)
- 1 Hawaiian chili pepper for spice, optional
Instructions:
- Start with a clean medium sized glass jar with lid.
- Place the okra vertically into the jar.
- In a saucepan on medium high heat add together all of the remaining ingredients until salt and sugar have dissolved.
- Carefully pour the hot pickle juice into the glass jar covering the okra.
- Cover with lid and let it cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. (Glass can crack if it goes from hot to cold too fast!)
- Chill in the fridge. Your okra pickles will be ready to eat in 3 days. Pickles are good for 3 months-if they can last that long!
Watch how it’s made HERE on our YouTube channel!
We would LOVE to see if you try out our recipes! Snap a few pics and share it by tagging us on social media @malama_kauai or email to [email protected]