Morning Walk Series [4]

While I've been eating ladies' fingers since young and later cooked them myself, can you believe that I've never actually seen the plant until last year??  Well, here it is for all city folk like myself :p

Common name: Okra or ladies' fingers
Binomial name: Abelmoschus esculentus

Ladies' fingers flower and fruit

Ladies' fingers leaf

Does the leaf look familiar?  That's because we've seen it here!

Ladies' Fingers

Ladies' fingers

I remember when I was young, my Mum used to cook ladies' fingers with chili.... YUMMY!  When I cook ladies' fingers, the only other ingredient I need is garlic.  Firstly, my kitchen/pantry is not as well stocked as my Mum's and I do not have all the spices needed for the fragrant chili concoction.  Secondly, my cooking skills are not as good as my Mum's.  So here's a really quick and easy ladies' fingers dish when you are in a hurry:

Ingredients:
ladies' fingers, washed and cut into slices on the diagonal
garlic, minced
cooking oil
light soya sauce

1. Heat a little oil in frying pan or wok
2. Fry minced garlic until fragrant (not burnt!)
3. Add ladies' fingers and stir-fry for a few minutes (add a little water to speed up the cooking)
4. Season with light soya sauce and serve hot!