Okra Yakitori Recipe
These hot sauce-doused skewers of charred okra are no joke
We're no strangers to yakitori here at TT, but when we heard about 2Nixons in Charleston, South Carolina, we were intrigued by chef Jeffrey Stoneberger's okra version. Skewers of the charred Southern favorite are topped with a rich olive-miso paste and dotted with homemade hot sauce. If you've lost faith in okra, this recipe will convert you.
Be warned: This hot sauce is not for the fainthearted. If you can't find Carolina Reaper chiles (a hybrid of ghost chile and red habanero), Stoneberger suggests red jalapeños as a substitute. Either way, caution advised.
To learn more, read "2Nixons Is Breaking Charleston's Curfew."
Recipe adapted from Jeffrey Stoneberger, 2Nixons, Charleston, South Carolina
Okra Yakitori
Homemade hot sauce and a salty olive drizzle take these grilled okra skewers to the next level.
Ingredients
- For the Hot Sauce
- 4 cups (8 ounces) Carolina Reaper red chile peppers, destemmed
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- ½ tablespoon shiro miso
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 dried Thai chile, toasted and ground
- For the Olive-Miso Sauce
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 2 cups pitted Castelvetrano olives
- 1 tablespoon shiro miso
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon fresh yeast
- White soy sauce, to taste
- For the Okra Yakitori
- 4 cups water
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 32 medium (12 ounces) okra pods
- Bamboo skewers, for grilling
Optional Ingredients
- 1 habanero chile (optional)
Directions
- Make the hot sauce: Add all the hot sauce ingredients to a blender and purée until smooth. Transfer to a sealable plastic bag and let sit at room temperature to ferment for 3 days. Once fermented, transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
- Make the olive-miso sauce: In a medium skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Cook until the butter has browned and has a nutty aroma, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a blender and add the remaining sauce ingredients, and purée until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container and set aside.
- Make the okra yakitori: In a medium bowl, stir the water, salt and okra together to rinse the pods. Drain well, then dry with paper towels.
- Light a grill. Skewer the okra pods, placing 8 pods on each skewer. Grill the skewers, flipping once, on the hottest portion of the grill until lightly charred, 3 minutes per side.
- Transfer the okra skewers to a platter and top with the olive and hot sauces, then serve.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 250 |
| Total Fat | 20.9 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10.4 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.6 g |
| Cholesterol | 40.5 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 14.8 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5.6 g |
| Total Sugars | 3.8 g |
| Sodium | 792.3 mg |
| Protein | 5.3 g |
