Okra with Chilli 羊角豆炒辣椒

I’m the only person at home who loves to eat Ladies' Finger. My father introduced me to this vegetable when I was a teenage. I was hesitant to eat it as it sticky. Looks a bit *yucks* especially when cooked without chilli. I fell in love with it after one bite. My father told me when choosing ladies' finger, use the thumb to bend the tip of the ladies finger. If it breaks then it’s ‘young’. Get these! The ‘older’ ones won’t break. These are not tender - no crunch. Leave these. An auntie method but quite true.

I don’t have a problem with buying ladies' finger because the seller in the market here has ‘baby’ one. It’s only half the length of the normal ones. Really tender.

Ingredients:

• 15 - 20 pieces of ladies finger if you are using regular ones; sliced diagonally and discard the top
• 1 tablespoon dried shrimps; soaked to soften and grind if preferred.
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic
• 1/4 cup water
• Oil for frying
• Ready-made chilli sauce/Sambal.Belacan (I use Hommaid Brand - Nyonya Crispy Prawn Chilli Sauce; something I can handle)

How to do it:

1. Stir fry garlic and grinded dried shrimps with oil till fragrant.
2. Add in sliced ladies finger and stir fry till desired softness.
3. Add in your chilli sauce or Sambal.Belacan and mix well.
4. If it is too dry, add in some water.
5. Serve with rice.

Note:
I don’t add salt as I think the dried shrimp are salty enough. In case you are wondering, I added some Chinese mushrooms in the one I cooked in the picture here.
If you want to make your own Sambal belacan, try this. Blend together the following:

• 1 clove garlic
• 3 red chillies
• 5 dried chillies
• 40g dried shrimps
• 20g belacan (toast first)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)Lime juice of 1 lime (optional)