OH, SING TO ME OF OK
Food & Wine|August 2023
THE WORLD IS BLESSED WITH A BOUNTY OF POETRY ABOUT OKRA, and this does not surprise me in the slightest.
KAT KINSMAN
OH, SING TO ME OF OK

The verses run the gamut from the ridiculous (musings on its mucilaginous texture and the polarizing nature thereof) to the reverent (reflections on okra as a totem of survival, every last syllable both earnest and earned). Okra doesn't just happen by accident; you either have to be in a place that embraces it, or you have to will it into your life because you have realized you cannot be your full self without this singular and perfect vegetable.

"Whenever I see okra popping up, it is a way for me to connect with my ancestors. Really, that's how deep it is," Pierre Thiam, chef and author of the upcoming cookbook Simply West African, tells me on a recent phone call. Thiam and I had met a few years back, and when he told me that okra is his favorite food, I showed him the flowering red okra stem I have tattooed on the back of my left arm. It started a conversation I hope will go on for ages. "Okra is spiritual, and that's why it's not for everyone," Thiam says. "Many are called, but few are chosen. I feel that way when I see people who don't like okra. I feel bad for them. I'm like, 'Oh, sorry, more for me.

To acknowledge me is to acknowledge the soil. To marvel at black cardamom, cinnamon, fried okra.
-Excerpt from "Lost Jewels" by Megha Rao (2022)

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