Giving second life to Okara

Is it May already? I’m looking forward to eating out again as restrictions are slowly being lifted. And about time, as I’m really low on inspiration these days. Could you tell?

I love experimenting and trying out new foods. But when you have to come up with three meals daily on top of churning up something fun and interesting, then it takes the joy out of cooking for me.

Earlier, it felt rude to be talking about food reviews when we weren’t even allowed to dine out. So I worked on recipes that we could work with in the kitchen.

But it will take a long time before things get back to normal again, and it’s going to be a real challenge for the F&B industry to get back on its feet.

So here’s something I discovered while on home restriction. Over here, we’re blessed to be able to buy a soya bean milk from the food truck or supermarket for less than RM3 per drink, but making your own is really not so hard at all. Somewhat messy, yes, but it’s a lot healthier as there are no preservatives and you get nice, thick undiluted soy milk, unlike the processed stuff.

But then, what do you do with the leftover soya mush? The leftover beans or soya pulp is called okara, and usually, we just throw this away. What a waste, right?

I’ve since discovered two great recipes that put okara to good use. Okara still has lots of nutrients and is fibre-rich, not to mention a delish side dish!

Hummus with okara (from theconscientiouseater.com)

Ingredients

150g cooked okara

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup tahini (make your own with sesame and some olive oil, blended till creamy)

2 cloves garlic

Pinch of salt and pepper

About 5 tablespoons of water or olive oil – add more if too dry.

Method

Blend everything together with a food processor till creamy. Add more or less water, depending on how thick you like your hummus.

Goes great with flatbread or even fresh chapati, or as a party dip with biscuits or celery and carrot sticks!

Okara nuggets

Ingredients

200g cooked okara

1 big onion, chopped small

3 cloves of garlic, chopped small

1/2 teaspoon chicken stock

Salt and pepper

Dash of sesame oil

1 tablespoon of soya sauce

1/2 cup wheat flour or potato starch

2 eggs

Method

Mix everything together, and form small nuggets about the size of an oreo cookie.

Deep fry in oil until light brown. Goes great with chilli sauce! The only snag is you probably can’t stop at one.