Poached Okra . 白灼秋葵

                                                      Poached Okra . 白灼秋葵

Okra is also called as Ladies’ Finger, it is popular for its soluble and insoluble fiber content and it is good especially for people who are at the early stages of diabetes. I will not go into the details on how good okra is as many people are aware of it, but most of them just do not appreciate its slimy texture.

To me, I am fine with the taste of Okra; I did even try on the prescription which is said to be effective to control diabetes as I want to know how it tastes like after cutting and standing for a night in a glass of water, and drink empty-stomached in the morning. Being one of those people who is fond of natural healing recipes, I do try on the recipes I have heard of with good reviews and ratings. 

If you want to give this healing recipe a try, here’s the one:

Two Okra, trim ends, and thinly sliced, put into a glass of drinking water then have it  covered; drink empty-stomached daily in the morning. People said the results were positive.

For those who want to take okra as one of the dishes served on the table, there is a recipe which I highly recommend. I came across a similar dish with a friend from France the other day in one Chinese restaurant, but I have modified it to have okras soaked in vegetarian broth, to make the dish more versatile; you could take it as a cold appetizer or a hot dish.

秋葵也被稱為淑女手指，因其可溶性和不溶性纖維含量豐富而受歡迎，尤其對初期糖尿病很有療效。在這裡我不會深入介紹秋葵有多好，因為相信大家都知道，而是去做個簡單的秋葵菜式，希望不愛它潺滑口感的朋友也接受到。

對我來說，秋葵的味道很清淡，我接受到。我之前甚至嘗試過坊間流傳說有效的控製糖尿病自然療法食譜，為的是想知道空腹喝浸了一晚的切片秋葵是甚麼味道。喜歡自然療法的人如我，通常都愛以身試食療，至少未知療效，也知味道。

如果你也想試一試這食療，可跟著做：

秋葵兩條，去頭尾，薄切，放入一杯飲用水內，蓋上，待一晚，晨起空腹飲用；每天一次。據說療效非常好。

喜歡秋葵做菜的，我倒推薦以下食譜。 兩三個星期前和一個法國訪港的朋友在一家中國餐館吃個類似的菜式，但今次我把煮過的秋葵浸在素上湯裡，使口味更清新，作為涼菜或熱菜都非常可口。

Poached Okra

Ingredients:
Okra  10 pc
Salt  1/2 tsp
Vinegar  1 tsp

Vegetarian broth  250 g/ 1 cup
Light Sauce  1 tsp

Method:
1. Bring Vegetarian broth to boil and transfer to a deep serving plate, let cool

2. Wash and dry Okra, trim the tops and slice Okra open from top to tip 

3. Heat a pot of water, add in salt, bring to boil; add in vinegar and okra, poach for 3 minutes; take okra out and soak in a ice-drinking-water bath till cold

4. Transfer okra into a sieve, shake off the water, and then put into the broth, sprinkle in light sauce, toss and serve

Cooking Tips:

1. Poaching Okra with vinegar keeps okra green, and okra turn less slimy after this process.  Ice-water bath keeps okra crispy. 

2. For serving hot,  just put okra in the hot soup, and add light sauce.
3. You may soak it in chicken broth instead if you think vegetarian broth is a bit too plain for you, and drizzle a drop or two sesame oil in case you want a strong flavor.

白灼秋葵

材料：
秋葵  10 pc
鹽      1/2 tsp
醋      1 tsp

素上湯   250g / 1 杯
淡醬油   1 tsp


做法：
1. 先把素上湯煮滾，轉至深湯碟裡，放涼
2  秋葵洗淨，去頭開邊
3. 燒熱一鍋水，加鹽，煮沸; 加入醋和秋葵，煮 3分鐘，拿出，浸入冰開水至涼
4. 把秋葵轉入潔淨篩子，隔去水，再放入素湯中，灑上淡醬油，略拌

提示：
1. 白灼秋葵時加點醋，秋葵可保青綠；白灼後，秋葵不會太黏咀；秋葵浸冰水則保持爽脆
2. 如熱食，把秋葵放在素熱湯裡，加入淡醬汁即可
3. 若覺得素湯過於清淡，浸清雞湯或肉湯也無不可；喜濃味的，也可灑上兩滴麻油。