Product information

Everything about okra

What every professional kitchen needs to know about okra: origin, flavour, preparation and storage.

What is okra?

Okra (秋葵) — also known as gombo, lady's finger or bhindi, in Vietnam đậu bắp, botanically Abelmoschus esculentus — is a tropical fruit vegetable with pentagonal green pods.

Young, small okra pods are best. In larger specimens the seeds become harder and the skin tougher. Choina delivers only young-harvested okra for maximum quality.

秋葵okralady's fingergombobhindi

Origin & tradition

Okra originates from East Africa and was brought to the Americas via the slave trade, where it became a cornerstone of Southern American and Cajun cuisine. In Asia, okra is well established in India (bhindi masala), China and Thailand.

In Japanese cuisine, okra is eaten raw, finely sliced as neba-neba (sticky side dishes) with dashi and soy sauce. In Chinese cuisine it is stir-fried with garlic and chili.

Flavour & texture

The flavour is mild and lightly herbaceous, almost neutral. The mucilaginous character (mucilage) is the most noticeable feature: with brief cooking it remains limited, but with longer cooking in soups it thickens the sauce. This is both a functional property and a desired textural effect in certain cuisines.

In Thai cuisine, okra is used in keng som (Thai sour curry) as a thickener and flavour component. In Vietnamese cuisine, đậu bắp is a standard ingredient in canh chua — the sweet and sour Vietnamese soup with fish and tamarind. In Indonesian cuisine, okra (bendi) is used in clear vegetable soups and stir-fried. In Japanese cuisine, okra is a popular neba-neba vegetable. In Korean cuisine as banchan.

Kitchen applications

Japanese neba-neba salad — finely sliced with dashi and soy sauce
Vietnamese canh chua — as an ingredient in the sweet and sour fish-tamarind soup
Thai keng som (sour curry) — as a thickener and vegetable
Indonesian okra tumis — stir-fried with garlic and chili
Grilled on high heat and served with ponzu or gochujang dipping sauce
Stuffed with minced meat and steamed — Chinese preparation style

Storage & freshness

Store at 7 to 10°C. Okra is sensitive to cold and develops brown spots at lower temperatures. Store dry and not in a sealed bag.

Use within 2 to 3 days. Soft spots and discolouration are signs that the okra is past its peak.

Professional kitchen tip

Dry okra completely before grilling or wokking, as moisture in the pan activates the slime immediately. A dry cooking surface gives more colour and less sliminess.

Trim the stem to 2mm from the pod. Cutting too deep releases the slime already during preparation.

Fresh Okra delivered daily to your kitchen

Choina delivers fresh Asian produce every morning to restaurants and wholesalers across the Netherlands and Belgium — Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Antwerp and Brussels. No minimum order.

WhatsApp Call