The Okara Cookbook: Okara "chicken" parmigiana

Monday, October 1, 2012

Okara "chicken" parmigiana

This recipe adds another step to the Okara "chicken" nuggets recipe, but it is totally worth it as it is so delicious. Remember that you can stagger all the cooking stages.

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

1 x recipe Okara "chicken" nuggets, cooked in a square pan

1 1/2 cups prepared tomato sauce

1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup Mozzarella

2 tbsp. Parmesan

Method:

1. Follow recipe for Okara “Chicken” Nuggets up to Step 4. Instead of cutting into nuggets or strips, cut into quarters. Proceed with crumbing and frying.

2. Preheat oven to 200oC. Combine tomato sauce with oregano, basil, and garlic. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the base of a greased baking dish, and top with the fried “chicken” squares. Top with remaining sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake for 20 min., until cheese is melted and golden.

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What is okara?

Okara is the Japanese name for soybean lees - the fibre-rich byproduct of making soymilk.

Anyone who makes his or her own soymilk and tofu knows about okara. If you’re not careful and forget to use it, soon your fridge and freezer are bursting with little bags of clumpy white stuff. In desperation, you can feed it to the dog or add it to the compost heap, but this is a real shame, because okara is very nutritious stuff. It’s the fibre your body needs. It’s where the nutrients that didn’t make it into the tofu ended up.

Adding okara to your baked goods – muffins, bread, pancakes, whatever – is a no-brainer, and no recipes are needed for this. Adding it to other “dump and guessem” dishes like soups, stews, and chilies, is also a no-brainer. There are also many traditional Chinese or Japanese recipes for simmered and stir-fried okara. These are delicious, and worth chasing up.

I turned to the Internet in desperation years ago when I got my first soymilk machine, and didn’t find what I was looking for - hence this cookbook. It was originally a simple page, hosted on a public server, and I used to get masses of hits on a daily basis. But times have changed: the Internet is a bigger places, there are more people making their own soymilk, more cooks willing to share their tips, and there are lots more recipes out there now. I hope my collection will be a good addition to the wealth of knowledge out there. Excuse the lack of pictures! The recipes are from the original page - when posting pictures of your recipes was Just Not Done - and I'll add them as I can.

Aknowledgements must go to William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi, whose seminal work, “The Book of Tofu”, has inspired me and countless others to turn to soy and reap the benefits.