okara "potato" salad (update)

Reconnected with okara "potato" salad

The recipe I used was again from the bag of okara.

The one I previously used had you "cook" the okara to get rid of the moisture.

This one doesn't have cooking involved and seemed easier, so I updated my okara potato salad recipe.

(FYI : potato salad in Japan is more like a mashed potato texture.)

For this version, instead of ham, cucumber, carrot, grated onion, yogurt, mayo, I used myoga, shiso, cucumber, a little dressing and a little mayo.

and for this version, I used cucumber, pickled myoga, shiso and a little mayo, I should’ve added a little more salt or something, this version was bland even with the pickled myoga

I'm glad I reconnected with this, it is a nice way to have "potato salad" without all the carbs.

okara mochiko chicken

Yesterday, we had some flurries and then we had some rain.

Satoshi didn't need dinner.

Most times when this happens, I buy something because I don't really like cooking for one.

I was watching a program and they mentioned that if your want to fry with dried okara, you should mix it with some flour.

So that is was I did...mixed some dried okara with some mochiko (rice flour) & regular flour.

I didn't deep fry, just pan fried.

This version turned out better than when I tried it before with only the dried okara.

I have some leftovers, so I think I may turn this into onigirazu for one of our lunches this weekend...

Hope you have a nice weekend.

okara chicken fingers

Was craving mochiko chicken, but wanted to use the dry okara that I have, so I marinated some chicken breast in the wet ingredients for mochiko chicken, then just before frying, I coated each piece with some dry okara.

I didn't deep fry, just pan fried, so am wondering if this may be the reason the outside didn't turn out crisp.

Still, it was a nice way to cut some carbs and soothe my mochiko chicken craving.

re-vamp

I recently made a batch of Ellie Krieger's Apple Pecan Muffins.

I added some kanso okara (dry okara) in place of half of the flour amount.

I'm glad that this muffin still turned out very moist.

Though I was bummed that the adjustable element in my oven, decided to adjust itself while the batch of muffins were baking and the muffin papers got a bit scorched.

At least there wasn't a fire (though it kind of smelled like it), and the muffins didn't taste smoky.

How's your week going?

okara scones

I want to share with you an okara recipe and will continue with more of our travels next week...

Back in 2008, I had a baking session with my Mom and she made her okara scones.

She didn't want me to post her recipe, so I'm not.

I've adapted it and that is what I am posting.

Please note that these do not come out flaky like scones, but more dense like oatcakes.

Okara Scones : adapted from Mom's recipe : makes 10 (more or less depending on how you scoop your dough out)

1 cup okara (soy lees)
1.5 cups flour
1 cup oats
1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
2 large dried figs, cut into fourths
1 handful of walnuts
1 handful of sunflower seeds
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 handful of dried blueberries

Put the first 9 ingredients into a food processor and pulse
Add the wet ingredients and pulse until the dough comes together in a ball
In a bowl fold the blueberries into the dough
Scoop out with a spoon (or ice cream scoop for more accuracy), and flatten a little with your hands
Bake at 400F (200 C) for about 16 minutes

NOTES: I usually bake on parchment (because I am lazy and it is so easy to clean up afterwards), but think that it might be okay to bake these on a greased cookie sheet.

I used the dry okara, but my mom used the wet type. Even though she used the wet type her scones did come out more like oatcakes too.

You can use your favorite dried fruits, nuts and seeds.

Enjoy!

kanso okara

Remember when I made the okara granola and re-did it?

Saying that the picture I saw of the okara granola looked dry like panko (bread crumbs)?

Well, while I was at the library with Satoshi, I came across a book about okara (soy lees).

In it, they showed different kinds of okara...

"Nama okara" is 80% water, texture like wet sand, what we see in the refrigerated area near the tofu.

"Kanso okara" is a rough texture like panko (bread crumbs).

"Okara powder" is a smooth texture like flour.

I had an "a-ha" moment...there is panko-like okara!

I tried looking for it here and there, but to no avail.

Asking at the market, the clerks looked at me like I was from another planet, no one knew what I was talking about.

Then I met up with my friend, Mayumi the other day.

I told her my dilemma and she made a phone call to a friend working at a market for businesses...

A few minutes later, we walked over and I bought 1 kilo of kanso okara!

The nice part is that it was less that 300 yen (tax included).

So many recipes I want to try with this.

Stay tuned...

okara granola (re-do)

I re-did a batch of okara granola, this time following the instructions verbatim.

Even while following the instructions verbatim, the granola still came out moist.

I think I will need to bake this for a longer amount of time.

Still, I like this version, as it gives us another option in place of oats.

We had this this morning, with a little yogurt, a really ripe banana, some blueberries and a little milk.

Our weather is still krazy with typhoons passing over us practically every other day.

This morning Satoshi went to work and the rain was coming down in buckets! Poor guy!

Hopefully all this krazy weather won't mess up the fall colors this year.

okara granola

While I was browsing at a bookstore, I came across a book that had an interesting recipe for granola.

The recipe uses okara (soy lees) instead of oats or cereal.

I usually follow a recipe verbatim whenever trying it for the first time, but thought I could make this relatively the same way I make Ellie Krieger's version.

Okara Granola adapted from "Shumi-doki June-July 2016"

120 grams okara (soy lees)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
handful of unsalted pumpkin seeds
handful of unsalted pecans
handful of unsalted mixed nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews)
handful of dried fruits (cranberry, blueberry, raisins)
handful of cacao nibs

Mix together, spread out onto parchment and bake at 170C (325F) for 30 minutes.
Cool and store in airtight container

NOTES: The original recipe instructs you to bake the okara mixed with some maple syrup for 10 minutes on the top rack of your oven, adding the nuts with a little more maple syrup and baking it for another 20 to 25 minutes, but I didn't do that, so I think this is why my granola turned out "moist".

The picture in the book looks like the okara is dry and "sand-like"...similar to panko (bread crumbs).

Satoshi was surprised when I told him what the granola was made from.

After we eat this batch up, I am going to try it like the recipe instructs...will let you know what happens.

gudakusan u no hana

Gudakusan u no hana (goo-dah-coo-sa-n-ooh-no-ha-nah) loosely translates to okara (soy lees) with lots of "stuff" in it.

I recently tried a recipe in Masakichi's book.

Adapted from "Bento no Hon" by Masakichi
150 grams okara (soy lees)
1/2 carrot, julienned
some hijiki, rehydrated
some goya (bittermelon), cleaned and thinly sliced
5 grams chirimen (dried whitebait)
2 handfuls chopped green onion
1.5 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
3 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 egg, scrambled

Heat a pan and add the oil
Add the okara and with a wooden spoon, coat with the oil and break the okara up a little
Add the carrot, hijiki, goya and chirimen, heat through (or cook to tenderness of your liking)
Add the green onion, mix well
Add the sugar, mirin and shoyu, mixing after each.
When everything is coated and starts to come together, add the scrambled egg.
Mix well.

NOTES: this is delicious, you can add your favorite "stuff". In the original recipe she adds aburage (fried tofu), and chikuwa (a type of kamaboko). The okara tends to soak up whatever seasonings you give it, so you need to work fast with this one.

This is delicious hot or cold, I am making this one again.

roca's okara gobo hamburger

Another recipe I tried from the Roca book was their hamburger.

The picture in the book looks way better than how mine turned out, but it was delicious all the same.

Okara Gobo Hamburger Steak from "Roca no Teishoku" makes 2 patties
1/4 onion (50 grams), minced
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 gobo (burdock) (35 grams), whittled
black & brown sesame seeds to coat

100 grams minced meat (pork/beef mixture)
50 grams okara (soy lees)
1.5 tablespoons panko (bread crumbs)
1/4 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper
1 tablespoon oil

Sauce:
pinch of sugar
2 teaspoons shoyu
2 teaspoons sake (rice wine)
2 teaspoons vinegar

Mince your onion and pan fry until transparent, set aside to cool
Whittle your gobo and soak in water for at least 10 minutes. Drain.
When your onions are cool, add them to a bowl.
Add the gobo and the meat, okara, panko, egg, milk, salt, pepper
Mix well
Form into 2 patties
Coat one side with the sesame seeds
Add 1 tablespoon oil to a heated pan and fry the patties with the sesame seed side down first.
Turn over and when cooked through
Add the ingredients for the sauce into the pan
As the pan sizzles turn the patties over to coat well with the sauce.

NOTES: the hardest part of this recipe was whittling the gobo. When I whittled my gobo, some of my pieces were thick, so these stuck out of the patty. I also omitted the salt.

The recipe makes 2 large patties, so instead I made 4 small ones.

Also, the sauce evaporates quickly, so you need to work fast to coat both sides of the patties with the sauce.

I liked this dish because it incorporates okara and gobo.

I'm making this again.

okara

One morning I saw someone making okara patties on television and it reminded me that I hadn't made them in awhile.

Okara are the "leftovers" after making tofu, the lees, it is also called "u-no-hana".

After going to the market, I sort of followed this recipe, this time adding a little minced chicken to make the patties.

After cooking them in some oil to brown, I made the thick sauce.

I sauteed some veggies (eringi, carrot, red bell pepper, spinach) in a non-stick pan without oil, then added the ingredients for the sauce, and thickened it up with a slurry then spooned the sauce over the patties.

It was so good with rice that Satoshi had seconds.

Whenever I buy okara, it comes with two 120 gram packages, so on another night, I made another okara recipe this time using this recipe.

Using similar ingredients as the patties, this turned out to be an okara scramble, of sorts.

I sauteed some minced chicken, diced onion, hijiki, carrot, red bell pepper, eringi and okara in some sesame oil.

When the minced chicken was cooked through and everything was broken up, I added a scrambled egg, some lettuce and some oyster sauce.

Okara is quite "sand"-like, so we ate this with a spoon. I think putting this over rice, like a donburi, would have been a better way to eat this than keeping the rice and scramble separate.

What have you been eating?

okara patties

We've been trying to eat less meat during the week.

Here's an easy and healthy recipe that I used to make okara patties.

If you want to add some ground beef, you may want to use this recipe, but for this meatless version, this is what I did.

Okara Patties : Makes 6

Patties:
120 grams okara (soy lees)
1/4 carrot, minced
2 pinches of dried hijiki (brown seaweed), reconstituted
part of an onion, minced
1 egg
grinds of pepper, to your liking
1 tablespoon oil

Sauce:
1 tablespoon shoyu
1 tablespoon mirin
slurry (some cornstarch diluted with water)

Topping:
grated daikon
chopped green onion

Combine the okara, carrot, hijiki, onion, egg and pepper together.
Using a tablespoon, scoop and form 2 or 3-inch patties.

Heat a pan with 1 tablespoon oil and cook patties.
(I covered the pan and let it cook for 3 minutes, flipped them over and cooked for another 3 minutes).

After the patties are cooked through, remove and make the sauce.
Add the shoyu and mirin to the pan and swirl, add a little of the slurry until you get the consistency of the sauce you want. (I didn't make it too thick)

Spoon over patties and top with grated daikon and chopped green onions.

NOTES: The texture reminds me of corned beef hash patties with more potato than corned beef.

You can top it with the sauce above or catsup. We've also had it with tonkatsu sauce.

If you don't like crunching on half cooked carrots and onions (we like the crunch), you can sautee them to get them soft before adding them to the okara.

You could also add cooked beans like edamame (soy beans) or konnyaku (devil's tongue jelly).

If you make the patties smaller, they are great in bento (boxed lunch).

food...nature...blast of heat...repeat

Sunday had to be most sauna-like day to date...this year. Still, we didn't want to stay at home, so we decided to check out the falls in Minoo Park.

From the Hankyu Minoo station to the falls it is 2.8 kilometers. Of course we couldn't just go straight to the falls, on the way we stopped into Hashimoto-tei for lunch.

Satoshi had the loco moco (900 yen about US$9), he knew when he ordered it that he may be disappointed, but ordered it anyway. When his plate arrived, he knew from the aroma that it would be different. He says that Kaka'ako Kitchen's is still his favorite.

I ordered the black curry (900 yen about US$9). This spicy concoction was delicious and had a lot of punch. It may look like a lot of rice, but with the amount of spiciness, you need it.

After re-fueling and cooling off a bit, we checked out the Konchukan (insectarium). The admission was 270 yen (about US$2.70) per person. Can you believe, that for all the years we have lived here, we had never stepped inside this place? We were glad we did though, there were lots of yucky bugs on display as well as a live butterfly area. I was amazed at how some of the butterflies had numbers written on their left wing--I think this is how they keep track of them.

From the insectarium, we continued walking toward the falls. There was another museum of sorts, but I can't tell you what it was (Satoshi didn't know what it was either)--at least there was no admission.

Right across the unknown museum, we stopped into yet another cafe (Yamamoto Coffee) along the way to keep cool. Satoshi had some coffee and I had an iced coffee (600 yen a piece--about US $6 each).

Just as we came out of the cafe and started to make our way up a slight incline, there was a man giving out samples of yamaguri (mountain chestnuts). It turns out that these are from Shiga prefecture, so they weren't local. But they were really easy to peel and delicious. We bought a bag to take home (600 yen or about US$6).

Finally, after 2 hours, we made it to the falls. There were many people in the waters below the falls. After re-energizing in front of the waterfall's spray and seeing a sign that said "beware of snakes" (eww), we started to head back.

You could hear tons of semi (cicada) in the trees and every so often a slight warm breeze would blow.

There were bursts of komorebi (sunbeams) which came through the trees.

Halfway out of the park, we were hungry again. So, this time, we stopped into Per Caffe Bianco. This cafe is right across the street from the train station.

I ordered the zuccotto (850 yen about US$8.50 comes with a drink) and Satoshi had a margherita pizza (1100 yen about US$11). Satoshi said that the pizza was really good, with lots of garlic in it.

The zuccotto had slices of grapefruit, lots of nuts and lots of cream inside. It went nicely with my cute cappuccino.

I think in the U.S. this is called latte art, but since this was a cappuccino...I love cappuccino art!

Not wanting to go out again to find dinner, we bought some ingredients to try a recipe which I saw on Deb's blog. (One thing you should know about us, no matter how much we eat during the day, we almost never skip a meal!)

Deb's ahi avocado towers with sesame-cilantro emulsion were delicious! I adapted the recipe and added diced tomatoes to 1/4 of a chopped red onion, diced 5 ounces (150 grams) of maguro (tuna), sprinkled some red alaea salt, put 1 tablespoon of shoyu, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and a pinch of black sesame seeds.









For the avocado layer, I used 2 small avocadoes. I couldn't find lime, so I used lemon juice from half a lemon without the zest.

As for the emulsion, I didn't have much cilantro, so we just used the few stalks that were on our lanai, and I added 1 tablespoon of EVOO and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. I didn't do the crab layer. On top of that, we couldn't find won ton wrappers or tortilla chips, so we ate our towers with okara (soy lees) chips. The chips were too small to layer onto, so we just ate them on the side. I've crushed and sprinkled these okara chips onto Chinese Chicken Salad as they have the same flavor as won ton pi chips.

I was so happy to be able to use my ring molds. Since I don't have 2 ring molds the same size, Satoshi's tower was bigger than mine and he was impressed as to how the tower was put together. The "leftovers" I put into a bowl, but that was eaten up too.

Boy, we sure ate a lot today! At least we bonded with nature while doing so.

Hope you enjoyed today as much as we did, have a great week!

Yamamoto Coffee
2-28 Minoo-koen
Minoo, Osaka
Phone: 072.722.3477
Open 9:00-18:00

Per Caffe Bianco
1-8-1 Minoo
Minoo, Osaka
Phone: 072.725.7111
Open 9:00-21:00
Closed on Mondays (UPDATE: hours have changed to 11:00-21:00)

hawaii cooks and eats

You may or may not have wondered what is causing these reddish/orangy sunsets and sunrises. It is apparently the pollution in the air. Most air pollution in Hawaii is known as "vog" or volcanic smog. This is the sulfur and smoke from the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island (Island of Hawaii) mixed with the rest of the pollution in the air. Who would have thought something so yucky could create something so beautiful?

Changing the subject, mom and I did some baking yesterday. She made okara scones (hopefully I can pry the recipe from her). And I made scones from "The American Test Kitchen Cookbook". The one on the left is the okara scone, kind of dense like an oat cake. The one on the right is the ATK scone made with lots of butter. The okara one wasn't too sweet and the ATK one was light and really buttery. Both would be a great thing to have for a quick breakfast or snack.

Leaving you with an orchid that bloomed a couple of days ago. I've put up pictures of this orchid in the past. Glad to see it bloomed again this year.

hilo (part 3)

Hawaii is not only a place for foodies, but also a place to enjoy nature. We were very lucky to be able to see Mauna Kea from the lanai of our hotel at sunrise one morning.

And a really faint rainbow--I've never seen one in Japan!

During our trip, my grandma went to visit with her friends at a senior center she used to frequent. Not only do they play "cards"--a Japanese game called Hanafuda...

Some were learning the hula, while others were sitting around chatting.

We also got together with some relatives who put together a delicious dinner filled with lots of local favorites, like pork tofu casserole...

California roll...

Crispy gau gee mein (no photo of the crispy gau gee..sorry~!) and there were other favorites like kal bi and mandoo, but I was too busy eating to take photos...sorry!

My grandma knew of a place that sold baked goods made with okara (soy bean lees) called Sputniks.

On Thursdays, they sell okara bread. These fluffy loaves come in 1/4 lb, 1/2 lb and 1 lb. We were able to place an order to be picked up the next day. Sputniks also sells plate lunches and okara cookies. And from other customers waiting in line, they also sell the best buttermilk donuts too!

The okara cookies were really crispy and delicious! Sputniks was also kind enough to pack up our order in a box. When travelling between the islands, a lot of businesses are kind enough to do this, you just have to ask.

Sputniks
811 Laukapu Street
Hilo
Phone: 808.961.2066

Another place to find good local food is KTA supermarket--the local market on the Big Island. Here in their deli section, they have freshly made makizushi (rolled sushi), inarizushi (sushi rice stuffed into fried tofu (soy bean curd) pouches.

And their original ogo namasu--seaweed prepared with bean sprouts, onion, sesame seed oil, shoyu, vinegar, sugar and chili pepper.

This was a great trip and I'm glad my grandma invited me to come along. (Thanks Grandma!) I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

okara "potato" salad

Part of tonight's dinner, a "potato" salad made with okara (soy bean curd lees). I found this recipe on the okara package and changed it here and there. It is really easy to make.

Okara "Potato" Salad :serves 4

120g okara
1/2 cucumber, sliced thinly
1/2 a carrot, sliced thinly
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper
A few slices of ham, cubed
1 tablespoon plain yogurt--no sugar added
1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1. Put the cucumber and carrot in a bowl and sprinkle salt on to it. Let sit for about 3 minutes to draw the liquid out 

2. Take veggies, rinse and squeeze out as much of the water as possible.

3. Add ham, okara, salt, pepper

4. Add yogurt and mayo. Mix well.

Enjoy!

NOTES: You can use whatever veggies you usually put into your regular potato salad (if you use frozen peas and carrots, just omit the salting (Step 1)). This recipe is good because okara has no distinct flavor of its own so it actually tastes like there are potatoes in the salad, even if there aren't! Oh, and if you make it the night before, you can come home from work and just heat up your main dish....Dinner is served!

I also wanted to share with you something that occurs during autumn--A lot of people dry their kaki (persimmons). I've often seen them hanging off their lanais, but this was the first time I got to actually try some. My student, Kazumi, gave me some yesterday, her friend's mom dried them. Apparently, they had so many kaki, that her friend's mom was peeling kaki almost everyday!

It was interesting to see up close, they use nylon type rope and stick the stem of the kaki through the rope to "string" them up. The kaki is sweet and reminds me of dried apricots. Just be careful of the pits, they are quite hard!