Deep Fried Okra

Since we don't have it in China, I never ate okra until I came to the US. And I like it, the texture is a little bit like a Chinese vegetable, loofah, which I can't find here. Yes, loofah, is the one they make sponges from.  When it's young and tender we make it into a soup with egg; it's a typical soup for summer.  The only thing I miss about China is the food.

Okra also known as lady's fingers but it's not the cookie. Okra is a really good health food due to its high fiber, vitamin C, Okra is also known for being high in antioxidants!

 This is a simple and delicious dish, forget about the calories just enjoy it! 

Deep Fried Okra

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 large egg whites
• 1 pound okra, trimmed and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
• 1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 quart vegetable oil
• Sweet chill sauce, for serving (optional)

Method

1.       In a large shallow bowl, whisk together egg whites and 2 tablespoons cold water. Add okra, and toss to coat completely.

2.       Combine cornmeal, flour, cayenne, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon
ground pepper; divide between two shallow bowls. Lift half the okra
from egg mixture, letting excess drain off; add to cornmeal mixture in one
bowl, and toss to coat evenly. Repeat with remaining okra, adding it to
second bowl.

3.       In a deep 12-inch cast-iron skillet, heat oil to 375 F  on a deep-fry
thermometer. Carefully place half the okra in oil. Gently stir pieces
(without disturbing coating). Cook until golden brown, 3 to 6 minutes;
adjust heat as needed to keep oil temperature between 300 F and
350 F. With a slotted spoon, transfer okra to a paper-towel-lined baking
sheet to drain.

4.       Return oil to 375 F; repeat with remaining okra. Season with salt, and serve with sweet chill sauce, if desired.

People's Kitchen-Vegan-deep frying

We found an interesting place in Nottingham that's kind of a throw-back: the People's Kitchen in the Sumac Center in Forest Fields, has a community dinner every Saturday night, run by a group of young volunteers who do the menu planning and cooking for only £3.50 suggested donation.

Brian predicted the place would be really funky, and it was: the couches looked they were gotten off the street.  There were numerous posters about leftist and progressive events, the music was Bob Marley and Brian felt like he was back in the 80s in New York City and the anarchist-radical places he used to go to then.  Myself, I felt like I was sent back to the Chinese Cultural Revolution (which my parents experienced) in which there were large canteens for people's communal dinners. One difference: the canteen was free.

The People's Kitchen is a vegan club: that night's menu was; Thai curry(there was some soy protein-like ingredient I couldn't identify)/cabbage slaw/rice/eggplant tempura (more on this see below).   In my humble opinion, the dishes needed more flavor but at just £ 3.5 I can't be too picky.  Plus, the people were nice and we met an interesting woman who is a professor of philosophy at Nottingham University.  She lives nearby and comes because she likes the food and the people.  A bonus for Brian was that they had a bar which served cask ales for only £2.10.  I signed up to do the cooking on Nov 24th, so maybe I can spice up the recipe a little bit.

The focus of this post is tempura.  Tempura is quite popular, just like this funny article said: deep-frying-is-where-the-magic-happens  When I was kids we only made deep-fried food occasionally because we couldn't afford the oil. I remember my grandpa used say even deep-fried mud tasted good.  In fact frying is thought to have originated in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC.  Nowadays people still love deep frying food, almost every cuisine has it.  In Louisiana the Creole cooking deep fries almost everything (I don't think they've deep fried mud yet).  The Italians make some of the best deep-fry. Here is one of my favorite way to eat artichokes

Deep-fried Artichokes 
Adapted from Italian: the beautiful cook book
Serve 6

Ingredients:

• 6 large fresh artichokes
• Oil
• 2 lemons
• Salt and pepper

Direction:

Clean the artichokes, removing the tough outer leaves and trimming the stalks. As each one is prepared, immerse it in a cold water with lemon juice. Drain the artichokes and dry them well. Tap them on a work surface so that the leaves open slightly, pull the leaves back.   Season the inside of the artichokes with salt and pepper.

Heat oil to 150 C.   Plunge the artichokes upside down into the oil. Pressing each artichoke lightly with a pair of tongs, allow them to simmer in the oil, gently stiring, for about 10 minutes, until crisp and golden.

Remove the artichokes from the pan and place them stem up on paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Transfer to a platter and serve them very hot with lemon quarters. 

I'll be the chef on 24th Nov. if you are in Notts please come to The People's Kitchen, 245 Gladstone Street.