Okra Chips

If you have ever been to the Farmer's Market in Charleston, SC, you have probably seen a funny looking bag of green fried stuff called Okra Chips. The majority of people that buy a bag, come back for more. They are really like chips... you can't eat just one!

I started out just like I would if I were making regular fried okra. I mixed up the flour, bread crumbs and seasonings in a plastic bag... but I prepared the okra totally different. I tried to remove as much of the seeds as possible...

I cut the tender cooked okra right under the cap (stem end)

 and slit it down through the end.

I turned it and cut it again leaving four dangling 'legs' on each pod.

I then took the knife and scraped out the seeds.

16 oz bag of frozen okra, thawed
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup flour
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Oil for frying

Heat oil to 350 degrees.
Mix the bread crumbs, flour and seasonings in a plastic bag. Place the okra in the bag, in batches. (The okra is pretty slimy at this point and does not require an egg wash.) Seal the bag and shake to coat. Only coat as much as you are frying in one batch. I pulled each pod out by the stem end and shook off the excess coating and even wiped some around in the coating to separate the four strips so they would fry up nice and crisp. Make sure the oil is up to temp before adding okra, or the coating/breading will fall off. Gently place the okra in the oil. Cook until browned and crunchy. Remove from oil and place on paper towels or butcher paper. I used popcorn salt to season since regular salt basically bounces off the crispy coating!