Comfort Food Classic: Egg And Okra Curry
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Face it: you're woefully undereducated when it comes to the food of Myanmar — and so were we until we picked up a copy of Burma Superstar. Packed with vibrant flavors both familiar and entirely new, this book based on recipes from the beloved San Francisco restaurant of the same name is a fantastic primer on Burmese cuisine. This egg and okra curry is a comfort dish throughout the region.
While eggs and okra are the headliner ingredients of this simple curry, don't overlook the virtues of the simple sauce. Made from slow-cooked shallots, garlic, and tomatoes and a generous amount of turmeric, it's so popular that the staff at sister restaurant Burma Love spoons it alone over rice. Shallots (or onions) are used in two places — minced for the sauce and sliced for texture. In Myanmar, cooks fry hard-boiled eggs to help them hold their shape in this classic curry, but not everyone is a fan of the ensuing rubbery texture. Frying isn't actually necessary: adding the eggs at the end preserves their shape just fine.
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 3/4 cup finely diced shallots or yellow onion
- 1/4 cup minced garlic
- 1 to 3 Thai chilies
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups diced Roma tomatoes (about 6 tomatoes)
- 1 1/2 ounces okra (about 15)
- 1 cup sliced shallots or yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 cup cilantro sprigs
- In a 4-quart pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the diced shallots and cook until softened, about 1 minute (this will take a few more minutes if using onion).
- Add the garlic and chiles, decrease the heat to low, and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic has begun to turn golden but has not started to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. (If the garlic starts to stick to the bottom of the pot, turn off the heat for a minute and stir, letting the garlic cook off the heat to avoid scorching it.)
- Stir in the turmeric, paprika, cayenne, and salt. Add the tomatoes and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes lose their shape and form a sauce, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the okra, sliced shallots, and fish sauce and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more or until the okra is just tender but not mushy. Season with more fish sauce or salt if desired.
- Cut the eggs in half. Nestle the eggs, cut-side up, in the pot and bring to a simmer. Gently stir the curry, ensuring that the eggs hold their shape, until the eggs are heated through. Include 1 or 2 egg halves in each serving. Serve with a bowl of cilantro sprigs at the table.