Lady Fingers

When I was in New Jersey, I bought a pork belly at the Asian Market, thinking to make Shinae Robinson’s caramelized pork belly again.

And I did, but what I really wanted to make today was lady fingers/okra/gumbo. That, and to use my new vegetable noodle making machine. Roger’s going to love this :D

You just stick the vegetable onto the machine and turn the handle. I’m going to have so much fun with this :) Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free people rejoice! You can just eat the courgettes like this, in a salad or whatever you do AND it will be pretty!

Anyway. Withered, meaning dry and shriveled. Here’s the picture.

I found these sad ole things in the back of the refrigerator crisper and wondered if I should toss them and go to the store for regular scallions. Nah, they cleaned up fine.

I need a bigger pantry and an Asian supply store located in Honesdale. That way I need never worry about running out of Gekkeikan, the supreme Japanese sake. Gold. Or shichimi togarashi which must be in the Sens pantry :(

Okra seems so southern U.S. to me or Nigerian. However, it is widely used in both East Asian and Indian cuisine because they know what’s good :)

I wanted to sprinkle some shichimi togarashi on my cooked lady fingers but I didn’t have any.

Instead I used some of my neighbor Caroline’s Spanish Rub. It worked out fine.

I mixed in the courgette noodles with fresh udon noodles and fried tofu for a spicy stir fry. Mah-velous! Inspiration for the recipe here.

To be honest, I did have a problem with the caramelized pork belly and it was the same problem I had last time. I must be an idiot because I didn’t learn. Way too much pork fat ends up in the sauce when it is cooked in cubes in the tajine.

The last time this happened, I resolved to cook the pork belly whole on a rack to burn off some of the fat for the first hour, then cube it and continue with the recipe. I recommend you do this even if I didn’t.

Lady Fingers

1lb okra, trimmed and sliced diagonally

1 tbsp peanut oil

2 tbsp sake

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp soy sauce

Shichimi togarashi

Stir fry the okra on high in the hot peanut oil for 1 minute, add the sake and continue to stir fry for 1 minute, Add the sugar and stir fry for 1 minute, then add the soy sauce and stir fry for 1 minute.

Sprinkle the okra with the shichimi before serving.

Spicy Udon with Courgette Noodles

1 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp chilli paste with garlic

2 tbsp lime juice

2-3 tbsp canned sweet red beans (yude adzuki)

2 tbsp soy sauce

3 single servings of fresh udon noodles

4 cups water

2 tbsp sesame oil

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups courgettes noodles or ribbons

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fried tofu, cubed

Mix together the sugar, chilli paste, lime juice, beans and soy sauce, then stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.

Bring the water to a boil, then drop in the noodles and boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.

Heat the sesame oil in a wok, then drop in the garlic and stir fry until aromatic. Add the courgettes to the wok, season with the salt and stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add the reserved noodles, water and chilli paste mixture to the wok, mixing well to heat. Stir in the tofu and serve.