Fruiting vegetables
Dried OkraDrying Time, Storage and a Natto Keema Curry Recipe
Okra stays sticky even when dried, and in soups and curries it turns soft and silky and blends right in.
Fresh okra spoils quickly and blackens fast in the fridge. Dry whatever you won’t eat right away.
| Drying time | Storage | |
|---|---|---|
| Dry | 2–3 days | 3 weeks at room temperature (fridge in humid summer) |
| Semi-dried | 1 hour–half a day | 4 days in the fridge |
Drying times assume drying during the day in sunny weather and bringing them in at night.
How to dry okra
- Remove the fuzz: Rub the okra under water while it’s still in its mesh bag to remove the fuzz and dirt. Without a bag, sprinkle with salt and roll it on a cutting board under your palm.
- Cut: Pare the hard edge around the cap thinly and halve lengthwise. The larger cut surface dries faster.
- Pat dry: Wipe thoroughly dry with paper towels.
- Lay out and dry: Lay cut side up on a basket, somewhere sunny and breezy. Bring in by evening.
Where and when to dry is covered in How to Dry Vegetables, and tools in Tools for Drying Vegetables.
When it’s done
Dry (2–3 days)
It’s done when the green has deepened, the pods have shrunk thin, and the whole thing is hard. The seeds dry last, so press to check.
Semi-dried (1 hour–half a day)
Only the surface is dry. Stir-fried or as tempura, it isn’t watery and tastes more intense.
Day by day
Before drying
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Storage
- Dry: Put completely dry okra in a bag or airtight container with a desiccant, and keep somewhere cool and out of direct sun for about 3 weeks. In humid summer weather, keep it in the fridge.
- Semi-dried: Keep in a bag in the fridge and use within about 4 days.
Fuzzy white or green growth, black spots or a bad smell are signs of mold or spoilage. Don’t eat it; throw it away. More in How to Store Dried Vegetables.
Rehydrating and using it
- Rehydrate: Soak dry okra in water for about 5 minutes. The stickiness comes back too.
- Use it dry: Add straight to soups, miso soup, curries and stews. It thickens them slightly and blends in.
- Crumbled: Crush completely crisp okra to sprinkle over rice or float on soups.
Recipe
Keema curry with dried okra and natto
The dried okra turns soft and silky, and blends right into the natto curry.
Ingredients (serves 2)- Dried okra from 8–10 pods
- 150 g (5⅓ oz) ground meat (any kind)
- 2 packs hikiwari natto (chopped fermented soybeans)
- ½ onion
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tbsp curry powder
- Salt and pepper
- 200 ml (about ⅘ cup) water
- A: 1 tsp granulated consommé, 2 tbsp ketchup, a dash of soy sauce
- Dried parsley
- Soak the dried okra in separate water for 5 minutes and pat dry. Finely chop the onion and garlic. Mix the natto with its sauce packet.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion. When translucent, add the garlic and ground meat and stir-fry.
- When the meat is no longer pink, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, add the okra and stir-fry. Add the curry powder and fry until no longer powdery.
- Add the natto, the measured water and A. When it boils, simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, serve over rice, and sprinkle with dried parsley.
If it’s too spicy, balance it with honey or sugar. Dried eggplant or dried zucchini work well instead of okra. Dried parsley is handy to keep on hand too.
