Seafood Okra

This Seafood Okra recipe is a delightful blend of fried okra, shrimps, clams, and codfish, spiced with rich, irresistible flavors that will hook you in from the first bite!

Why You'll Love It

There is so much to love about this seafood okra dish. Everything about it just screams pure comfort food.

This Nigerian seafood okra is best eaten by itself and is prepared differently from the okro soup recipe, which can be eaten with fufu. It is so filling and nourishing due to the variety of seafood options you can make it with.

Ingredients Used

• Seafood: You can literally use any seafood combo that catches your fancy – prawns, catfish, crabs, tilapia, shrimps, etc. For this recipe, I use codfish, shrimps, and clams but I often mix it up based on my mood.
• Okra: I use roughly 2 cups of okra chopped in my food processor. You can use frozen okra but fresh is so much better. The okra has a nice firm bite to it when it’s fresh.
• Vegetables: Bell pepper and onions for a delicious infusion of flavor.
• Spices: Bouillon powder, cayenne pepper, ground crayfish, black pepper, and salt. You can substitute with your favorite spices but the cayenne pepper and bouillon powder combo are absolutely delish!
• Olive oil: to fry the vegetables.

How to Make Seafood Okra

The prep work is a bit involved but the actual cooking takes only about 10 minutes. But the end result is worth it, I promise!

1. First, you have to prepare the seafood. This will vary with the type of seafood you have and whether you buy it pre-cooked or raw. Boil some water for the clams while you prep the codfish and shrimp. Rinse the codfish and shrimp with water and pat dry.
2. Heat up a little oil in a pan over medium heat. If your pan is big enough, cook the shrimp and codfish at the same time. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on the seafood in the pan. Stir the shrimp around, but just flip the codfish once. Let them cook for about 10 minutes, then set them aside.
3. Clams are quite easy to prepare. Make sure they are closed when you buy them. If any of the clams are open and would not close when you press them together, it means it’s not fresh anymore and you would have to toss them.
4. Add the clams to the boiling water and after a few minutes, they will begin to pop open. Shake the pot to make sure all of them have a chance to be steamed and open up. Take them out and either leave them in the open-shell or take it out of the shell completely. I leave mine in the shell but it really just boils down to preference.
5. Chop up the bell peppers and onions. The okra can be cut into chunks, coarsely chopped in a food processor, or grated—whatever works for you. Heat some olive oil in a wide skillet, toss in the onions and peppers, and stir fry for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the okra along with bouillon powder, cayenne pepper, ground crayfish, black pepper, and a little salt if needed.
7. Give it one big stir and add the seafood. You don’t really need the okra to cook for a long time; let it cook together with the seafood. When you add the seafood, let it cook for about 5 minutes to absorb the flavors. The codfish might break apart and that's okay.
8. To prevent overcooking, turn off the heat and leave covered so the residual heat can continue steaming the dish.

This recipe contains 6 net carbs and serves 4. It keeps very well in the fridge and can be stored for 3-4 days. 

Recipe Video

Click on the image below to watch me make this recipe from start to finish on YouTube!

Tips and Variations

• To make the process as short as possible, you can buy a seafood mix from your local grocery store.
• For a more traditional flavor, substitute olive oil with palm oil.
• The ground crayfish spice is optional but it gives a great umami flavor to the dish.

Enjoy these other low carb African soups and stews!

Egusi Soup

Efo Riro (Nigerian Spinach Stew)

Bitter Leaf Soup

Banga Soup

Nigerian Beef Stew

Beniseed Soup

📖 Recipe