Okura Ohitashi (Japanese Okra Salad)
Okra Ohitashi is a simple, light, and flavorful Japanese side dish of blanched okras in a soy sauce-based marinade. Prepare it ahead of time, so you can serve this salad instantly for dinner.
Ingredients
- 10 Okras
- ½ tsp kosher/sea salt (use half for table salt)
- Katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (for sprinkling, omit for vegetarian)
Marinade
- 1 cup dashi (240 ml) (use Kombu dashi for vegetarian; See Notes)
- 2 Tbsp usukuchi (light-color) soy sauce (See Notes; You can use regular soy sauce)
- 2 Tbsp mirin
Instructions
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Gather all the ingredients.
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Cut off the tail end of okras. Peel off the hard part around okra end shown in the picture below.
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They should look like this. Tip: If you cut the end completely, water gets inside.
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Bring enough water to a boil. Sprinkle kosher salt over okras and rub gently on the cutting board. Tip: This brings out the bright color of any green vegetables (such as cucumbers) and removes the bitter taste.
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Once the water has come to a boil, put in the okras (without removing the salt) in the boiling water and blanch for 1-2 minutes.
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Drain and let cool the okras in iced water. As soon as they are cool, remove from the water and squeeze gently to remove excess water. Set aside.
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In a small saucepan, add mirin and let the alcohol evaporate for 1-2 minutes.
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When there is no more alcohol smell, add dashi and soy sauce. Once it boils, turn off the heat and set aside.
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Transfer the okras to a shallow glass baking dish. Pour the marinade into the dish while the marinade is still warm. Let steep at room temperature for at least 1-2 hours before serving.
To Serve
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Plate okras on a serving dish, drizzle some marinade over the okras, and sprinkle katsuobushi. You can serve it at room temperature or chilled. Enjoy it within 2 days.
Recipe Notes
Dashi: Use kombu dashi for vegetarian/vegan. Here are 3 ways to make dashi. I usually make Awase Dashi (kombu & katsuobushi dashi).
Usukuchi (Light Color) Soy Sauce: Use this soy sauce when you want to keep the broth/sauce color lighter in color. Regular soy sauce can make the broth/sauce too dark in some dishes.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.