My husband and I have been fairly nomadic since January 2020. We have lived in six different locations, five of which are in the south. I don’t miss the cold winters of the north, and I actually love the heat and humidity of the south. (Yes, that may qualify me as crazy.) I also love having newer to me ingredients for recipe creation. Okra falls into that category, as I didn’t cook with it until just four years ago.
Making it healthy
Dining out in the south, fried okra is an appetizer on a number of menus. I know, most people see that and are excited. For me, I don’t feel the same way. Fried food is something I enjoy in small doses. Small, as in, if my husband orders something fried, I will eat one or two, and then I’m done. However, I do love the texture of fried foods, just not the greasiness.
The obvious answer on how to fix that was with our air fryer. The bigger question for me was what the coating was to be. I love to think about recipes in two main categories: flavors and textures. Since this okra was to be crunchy, texture was my first consideration. I was pretty sure the flavors would be easier to impart.
Recipe testing
In my first round of cooking, I did some A/B testing. I made half a batch of air fried okra that was coated in a combination of flour and cornmeal. The other half batch was coated in panko breadcrumbs. If you have looked carefully at the photo, you will see which was the winner.
Although panko is an obvious choice for its texture, I also tried cornmeal, as many of the fried okra dishes I have seen use cornmeal. Cornmeal did provide crunch, but it was a gritty sort of crunch. I assume that when deep fried, the cornmeal soaks up some of that oil, which most likely reduces the grittiness. Using an air fryer, that doesn’t happen. Panko, however, starts off nice and crunchy and becomes even more so with a little time in the air fryer.
Serving the dish
Like most fried foods, this okra benefits from a dip. Although I do have to state that this okra is pretty flavorful on its own. With garlic powder in the egg white and the panko, there is a decent amount of flavor to be enjoyed. But, dipping is fun, so I made a sauce for it. Not wanting to ruin the healthy aspect of it, the dip’s base is Greek yogurt.
While this is an appetizer, it is definitely a no-guilt sort of appetizer. In fact, it is the sort of dish where one may feel compelled to make a batch and eat it all on one’s own as dinner. (Not that I’d know anything about that. . .)
Whether you choose to share or not, this is a delicious and healthy way to get some crunchy okra into your day!
Extra Crunchy Okra- The Healthy Way
Equipment
-
Air fryer
Ingredients
Okra
- 12 ounces okra
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup panko
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Dipping sauce
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2-1/2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
Instructions
-
Clean okra, and remove stem and tip ends; set on paper towels to dry slightly.
-
In a shallow bowl whisk egg white and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
-
In a second shallow bowl combine panko, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and salt.
-
Cut okra into 1-inch segments.
-
Place 1/4 of okra into egg white mix.
-
Use a fork to toss and fully coat okra pieces.
-
Remove okra from egg white, using the fork, shaking to remove excess egg.
-
Transfer to panko mixture.
-
Toss until all pieces of okra are well-coated.
-
Spray air fryer racks with nonstick cooking spray.
-
Place coated okra pieces on rack.
-
Repeat with remaining okra.
-
Do not crowd the okra on the rack; use multiple racks as needed.
-
Heat air fryer to 375 degrees.
-
Place rack(s) in oven, and air fry for 6 minutes.
-
If using more than one rack, rotate positions, and air fry for 6 more minutes.
-
While okra cooks, combine yogurt and barbecue sauce in a small bowl, stirring well.
-
Remove okra from air fryer, and serve immediately with dipping sauce.
