Okra with caramelized red onions

I'm waiting for my dinner to cook in the oven right now, it's something that I've been looking forward to make, and I'm excited to eat it! :) But for now, let's have a post about a very simple dish that I made over the weekend.

My mom cooked this dish pretty often and I absolutely love her version. I jazzed my version up a bit, to introduce a little sweetness to the dish. Caramelized red onions are delicious, I love the soft, sweet onions in close to every dish!

Okra with caramelized red onion

Okra with red onions
(Serves 2 as a side dish)

Ingredients

175 grammes of okra (I get them in a pouch from Tesco)
1 large red onion, sliced thinly
1 medium sized green chilli, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Method

1. Trim the edges and the top of the okra. Boil it whole for about 4-5 minutes, or until tender to touch. Set aside
2. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onions and chilli, and cook on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. 
3. Once the onion slices turn slightly brown, add the garlic. We don't want to add it too early else it'll burn.
4. Once the onions are cooked, add the soya sauce and season to taste.
5. Serve on top of the boiled okra, and have it with steamed white rice.

Pan fried salmon for dinner

Dinner tonight was yummy! I pan fried salmon and stir fried some okra with some dried shrimp paste. I marinated the salmon pieces with ginger, honey, soy and some rice vinegar. The initial intention was to make some home made teriyaki sauce, but somehow, it didn't turn out to taste like teriyaki sauce unfortunately. It probably was because of the lack of one key ingredient in making teriyaki: mirin. Oh well, it turned pretty yummy anyways, if I may say so myself! :) Z and W enjoyed it, so I was happy! :) I didn't use any measurements, as I am rubbish with being precise! Just adjust it to your taste, if you like it sweeter, just add more honey.

The okra was stir-fried with plenty of garlic, courtesy of Z's enthusiastic peeling and chopping. I used the dried shrimp paste I got from home, and put about a tablespoon in towards the end. The shrimp paste already has hints of chilli (it's not actually belacan, more like grounded dried shrimp in chilli oil), and gives a lovely spicy hint to the dish.

With a plate of steamed rice,  dinner was very satisfying :)

P.S: While I'm writing this, Z is trying to peep and read the post! It's only my second entry, and for some reason, I would feel a bit funny if he reads it in front of me. Maybe next time I'll have that weird feeling less :)