Okara (food)
Soybean pulp byproduct from tofu and soy milk production.
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Okara, also known as soy pulp or tofu dregs, is the insoluble fiber left after soybeans are pureed and filtered to produce soy milk and tofu. It is white or yellowish and is a traditional ingredient in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisines. Since the 20th century, it has also appeared in vegetarian cooking elsewhere.
Quick Facts
- Moisture content (firmly packed)
- 76 to 80%
- Protein content (dry weight)
- 24%
- Fat content (dry weight)
- 8 to 15%
Facts from the source article.
Composition
Firmly packed okara contains 3.5 to 4.0% protein, 76 to 80% moisture, and 20 to 24% solids. On a dry basis, it holds 8 to 15% fats, 12 to 14.5% crude fiber, and 24% protein, representing 17% of the original soybean protein. It provides potassium, calcium, niacin, most soybean isoflavones, vitamin B, and fat-soluble factors such as soy lecithin, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, phytosterols, tocopherol, and vitamin D. Antinutritional factors include trypsin inhibitors (mostly destroyed by cooking), saponins, and soybean agglutinins. Fermentation with proper bacteria improves digestibility, increases edible fiber, free amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, and flavoprotein.
Uses
Worldwide, most okara is fed to livestock, especially hogs and dairy cows, with the remainder used as natural fertilizer or compost. A small portion is used in cooking. In Japan, it appears in unohana, a side dish of okara cooked with soy sauce, mirin, sliced carrots, burdock root, and shiitake mushrooms. Okara can be fermented with Rhizopus oligosporus to make tempeh, or with Neurospora to produce red oncom, eaten by the Sundanese people on Java in Indonesia.
In Shandong cuisine of eastern China, steamed blocks of wet okara are eaten as zha doufu (also called xiao doufu or cai doufu). It is used in vegetarian burger patties, granola, soysage, as an egg replacement in vegan quiche, and in pâtés. Japanese experiments have incorporated okara into ice cream. It also appears in pet foods.
Waste/environment
When not considered food, okara is termed soybean curd residue (SCR). Japan disposes of some 800,000 tons of SCR annually as a byproduct of tofu production, posing an environmental problem due to its high susceptibility to putrefaction. The protein in SCR has a protein efficiency ratio of 2.71, higher than soymilk's 2.11, and its essential amino acid ratio resembles that of tofu and soymilk. Commercially extracting proteins and nutrients from SCR waste remains challenging.
Did You Know?
- Okara is the oldest of three basic types of soy fiber; the others are soy bran and soy cotyledon/isolate fiber.
- It is called dòuzhā or dòufuzhā in Chinese, and biji or kongbiji in Korean.
More in Japanese Cuisine Terms
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Okara (food) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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