Okra Cold Noodles (Two Ways)

Ingredients

• 10 Okra (washed and stems trimmed)
• 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Water
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 0.5 tsp Sugar
• Chili oil (optional, to taste)
• 1 serving Somen noodles (pre-cooked and chilled)
• 3 tbsp Mentsuyu (Noodle Soup Base) (diluted according to package)
• Bonito flakes (for garnish)

Steps

1. 1

   Wash the okra thoroughly and trim the tough ends of the stems.

2. 2

   For the first dish (Chilled Okra): Place the whole okra into a vacuum container.

3. 3

   In a small bowl, mix light soy sauce, water, sesame oil, and sugar. Add chili oil if desired.

4. 4

   Pour the sauce over the okra in the container. Use the vacuum pump to seal the container, which helps the marinade penetrate the okra quickly without cooking.

5. 5

   Let it sit for at least 10 minutes (or longer in the refrigerator) before serving as a side dish.

6. 6

   For the second dish (Okra Cold Noodles): Take the marinated okra and slice them into thin rounds to reveal their star shape.

7. 7

   Place a serving of pre-cooked, chilled somen noodles into a bowl.

8. 8

   Top the noodles with the sliced okra and pour over the mentsuyu (noodle soup base).

9. 9

   Garnish with bonito flakes and serve immediately.

Notes

The creator uses a Neoflam vacuum container to speed up the marinating process without boiling the okra, preserving its crisp texture. If you don't have a vacuum container, you can blanch the okra for 1 minute before marinating.

Nutrition per serving

• appetizer
• main
• vegetarian
• no-cook
• summer
• healthy
• okra
• noodles