How do I quickly get okra to stop being goopy?

Question

It's irritating to cook any recipe with okra. I love okra, but it always takes a long time to burn off all the goopy stuff. Is there a way to get rid of it more quickly so my okra will be ready sooner?

Answer 1

When I cook an okra, I've found that adding tomato suppresses the slime. For about one or two cups of okra, I add one small ripe tomato. I do that whenever I cook an okra curry.

Deep frying okra in some kind of batter also works well and is delicious.

Answer 2

The best way that I have found to cook okra, and prevent it from being slimy is to avoid cooking it with moisture.

If you dredge it in seasoned cornmeal, then pan fry it, you get none of the slime that is common to okra.

I haven't done any tests to verify if a quick fry would then prevent it from developing slime if you then add liquid, however. If you're trying to add the okra to a soup or a sauce, you might still need to spend some time cooking it to break down the slime.