Have you ever cooked Ugly Skiitake mushrooms or Okra?

Fried okra is really good. Here’s a recipe similar to the one I use to fry okra.

You can use the okra to thicken a gumbo. The Shiitakes will be nice raw, in a salad, for instance.

EDIT: I’d like to keep this semi healthy… fried okra sounds great but I’d rather it not be fried!

Okra is good, cut up and boiled, strained with butter and hot sauce.

I’ve used okra in foods where I would use zuccini or other squash but I’m personally not wild about the texture of the outer versus the inner. Are the shitakes called “ugly” because they’re split or look like they have stretch marks? Are they dried or fresh? I love those mushroom whole or sliced in soups and casseroles as well as stir frys.

Shiitake mushrooms are delicious as is fried okra. However, boiled okra is slimy.

@Neizvestnaya: they’re called ugly because they’re mutated a little, but i think just physically. supposedly they make various types of ‘ugly’ mushrooms. they are fresh! :) I want to start cooking with asian noodles so maybe i’ll make a stir fry, thanks!

Shiitakes are better raw than cooked.

Yum, have you cooked with yam threads which are transluscent noodles? Om nom nom.

@Neizvestnaya : noo are those the same as glass noodles?

Okra is nice cooked up with stewed tomatoes and onions. You can also add yellow squash or diced eggplant. I would saute the veggies a bit in olive oil and then add the stewed tomatoes, simmer it and season with oregano an/or basil, salt and pepper.

@Samantha_Rae- nope, glass noodles are from rice and the yam threads are from tubers. I have no idea what the nutritional difference would be, to me they’re both starches but I like the flavor of the yam threads better. A bowl of those cooked up with mushrooms and spinach in vegie or fish broth… ohh.

Here’s a recipe for shrimp gumbo with okra. Delicious!

Here & Shiitake Salad With Citrus Dressing

1 package (3.5 ounces) Oakshire Shiitake Mushrooms
6 cups lightly-packed trimmed spinach leaves in bite-sized pieces
1 cup chopped tomatoes
¼ cup grapefruit juice
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ teaspoon Dijon-style prepared mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Trim stem ends of Shiitake Mushrooms; cut mushrooms into thin slices, through the caps and stems. In a large serving bowl place mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes; set aside. In a small bowl whisk together grapefruit juice, oil, mustard, salt and pepper. Just before serving pour over vegetables, tossing gently.

Yield: 4 portions is a shitake mushroom salad recipe. Source

I have cooked frozen okra once.
I was traumatized.

I cook okra regularly, mostly in gumbo.

Okra and zucchini are basically interchangeable in recipes, just a slight textural difference. Don’t boil it unless your heritage is from south of the Mason-Dixon line. Boiled okra, grits and sourmash whiskey don’t agree with us yankees~.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land I’m not sure where you are getting your okra and zucchini, but when it comes out of the gardens around here, it is absolutely nothing alike—not taste or texture. These would not work as substitutes for each other in any recipe.

@marinelife what time can I come over for dinner?

sounds awesome!

I buy canned Progresso chicken and sausage gumbo and add to it fried sweet sausage (skinless) and bell peppers. Then I dump in frozen non-breaded okra and garlic powder and serve over rice. I know it’s lazy.

Okra is delicious grilled. A small amount of olive oil and/or lemon juice can be use but a small amount of char on the edge is all it really needs. Having said this, I will mention that some people adore okra and tomatoes.