Massaman curry (from tinned paste)

Sascha bought this little tin of curry paste when he stayed with us (and S demanded he make us dinner when we got home from work / before going to basketball). The remainder of the tin had been in the fridge ever since - I wasn't sure how long it'd last but guessed it needed using up before too much longer. Last night I got home before S and decided it was time for curry. I filled it with a pretty random selection of stuff from the corners of fridge, freezer and cupboards. Which actually worked out really well.

The paste is good, and tinning means it has no unidentifiable ingredients. In case I want to try and recreate it / find it again, it is labelled Massaman curry paste, and the ingredients list is: garlic, sugar, soybean oil, dried red chillies, tamarind juice, shallot, salt, lemongrass, spices (coriander seeds, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, lesser galanga, cloves), kaffir lime, galangal, citric acid (E330).

1/2 tin Massaman curry paste (see above)
1 tin coconut milk
1/4 butternut squash, deseeded and chopped into ~2 cm chunks
2 medium potatoes, washed and chopped into ~1 cm chunks
~1/4 cup okara (optional - chucked it in because it needed eating)
~1/2 cup frozen chickpeas
1/2 block super firm tofu
~1/2 cup frozen peas
~2 tbsp crushed toasted peanuts
~2 tbsp chopped coriander

Heat a deep frying pan with a lid. Put the curry paste and half the coconut milk in and stir-fry for ~ 3 min. Add the potato and squash. Cover and simmer for ~15-20 min, until the potato is almost cooked, adding the okara after about 5 min if using. Add the chickpeas and tofu and heat for another 5 min or so, then add the frozen peas and heat for 2-3 min, until they are cooked. Take off the heat and stir in the toasted peanuts. Serve with rice, and with coriander sprinkled on top.

Chocolate, banana and okara muffins

So many possibilities with okara... Pondered making cornbread again. Decided to go the sweet route this time - would be nice to have a pudding option ready for S when he returned as well as salad...

Unusually had some almost overripe bananas (prob due to not modifying banana purchase quantity while S was away), so decided to follow this muffin recipe (note that site has lots of other interesting okara ideas).

(makes approx 10 muffins)

1 large banana 
1 cup okara
1/4 cup fake milk
1/4 cup veg oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350F. Prepare a muffin tin with liners or grease. Mash the banana in a medium bowl, then add the okara, veg oil, sugar and vanilla and beat with a fork. In a separate mixing bowl, mix the baking powder, bicarb, flours, salt and cocoa together with a fork. Add wet to dry and mix until just combined, adding in the chocolate chips in the final few strokes. Transfer mixture to prepared muffin cups (fill each ~ 2/3 full). Bake for 20-25 min, until a skewer comes out clean.


These were good. The okara does a lovely job of adding texture and moistness without doing much in the way of taste.

Spiced okara and red lentil dip

I made more tofu, partly because I wanted to see if I could do a better job / get a more stand-up texture, partly because I kind of wanted more okara to play with - the cornbread I made with the last lot was so, surprisingly delicious...

I used part of the okara for this dip - it's a variation on the red lentil dip I've made many times.

1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup okara
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 clove garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp sumac
1/2 tsp ground ginger
~ 1 tbsp olive oil
salt+pepper

Put lentils, okara and water in a small pan, cover and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for ~ 10 min, then turn off the heat and leave pan covered for ~15 min. Add the remaining ingredients and blend to a paste.

Okara cornbread (gluten free)

After my tofu making escapade, I had about two cups of okara going begging. Last time I had okara I scramble-fried it but I didn't love it like that. I think its vocation is as a filler - it has a pleasant texture and mild taste - would be good in burgers and that kind of thing. This time I tried baking, veganising this cornbread recipe.

1 1/3 cups cornmeal
1 1/3 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2/3 tsp salt
1 1/3 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 3 1/2 tbsp boiling water
1 1/3 cups fake milk (used dried soymilk)
1 1/3 tbsp molasses
2/3 tbsp veg oil
2 cups okara

Heat the oven to 425F. Grease a loaf tin and line the base. Mix the cornmeal, bicarb and salt in a bowl with a fork. In a separate bowl beat together the linseed mixture, fake milk, molasses and oil. Add the okara to the wet mixture and mix well. Transfer the wet to the dry and mix til just combined (use your hands if you like). Put the mixture in the tin and bake for ~45 min, til firm in the middle.


This remains kind of squishy, but is surprisingly savoury and moreish. Good with green tofu spread and mashed chickpeas. Think the same mixture would have worked quite well shaped into patties and baked on a greased tray.

Making tofu (or soymilk)

I eat loads of the stuff, and I reckon our fridge always contains at least five different kinds (right now: silken soft, silken firm, firm, extra firm, dry 5-spiced). But I'd never really even thought about making my own. I bought a bag of dried soybeans the other day (for miso attempt), and with lots left over it seemed like time to give tofu making a try. It is a bit more straightforward and much quicker than miso, thought it might be fun. Basically followed this recipe (and this one a little bit).

(makes approx 1 lb of fresh, silken-style tofu)

1 1/2 cups dried soybeans
4 1/2 cups water (and more later)
coagulant: 3 tbsp cider vinegar, 4 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tsp Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) or 2 tsp nigari (I used vinegar)

Put the beans and water in a large pan or bowl, cover and leave to soak for 8 hours or overnight.

Grind the soaked beans together with their water until as fine as possible in a blender or food processor.

Boil five cups of water in a large pan. Add the ground beans. Reduce heat to medium and keep just below the boil for 8 minutes. A layer of foam will form on top.

Line a colander with cheesecloth  and put it over a bowl. Strain the mixture, reserving the liquid (soymilk). Squeeze the cloth bundle to extract as much milk as possible. Undo the bundle and set aside the contents - this is okara. Rinse out the cheesecloth.

Mix the coagulant with 1 cup of water in a small bowl.

Rinse out the pan, then add the strained soymilk and heat gently, stirring continuously, until it reaches 65-68C (150-155F) - I judged this as cool enough to put a finger in but too hot to be comfortable. Take off the heat.

Add half the coagulant mixture to the pan and stir like a whirlpool six times. Hold the spoon in the middle and wait until the swirling stops. Add the remaining coagulant and stir in a figure of eight six times. It should start to coagulate. Cover and leave for 15 min.

Line a colander with cheesecloth and put it over a bowl. Transfer the soymilk with a ladle into the colander. Fold the cloth on top, then put a plate and a weight (large tin or jar) on top. Let stand for 15 min to press out excess water. Put it in the fridge to chill and firm up slightly for one hour. Discard flowthrough. Fill a large bowl with cold water then transfer the cloth-wrapped package to it and remove the cloth. Let water run gently for 10 min or so.

Eat immediately (I had some for lunch as this salad) or store covered in cold water for up to three days.


This was good. Very soft and creamy, quite lovely. Worked really well in the salad. I kept about half for something else tbd. It didn't keep shape well when cut - more creamy than shapely or crumbly - so perhaps best for dips, puddings etc. Most comparable with silken tofu.

Notes: If I ever get into doing this frequently I might try drying and grinding the okara so it can be stored for later use. I baked cornbread with the (undried) okara produced from this batch (2 cups). I think the creamy rather than choppable consistency was probably due to guessing temperature before adding coagulant - was probably not hot enough. I might finally invest in a thermometer one day soon.

Okara

Okara is the other solids left behind when soymilk (and/or tofu) is made from soybeans. In Japanese grocery stores that make their own tofu, apparently it is traditional to give away balls of okara. We visited an awesome Japanese grocery store in Medford yesterday (recommended by a Japanese friend): Ebisuya. They make their own tofu, and there was one, unlabelled, cling-wrapped ball of white stuff in the fridge above the tray of fresh tofu. I was pretty sure it would be okara. More so when I checked the receipt and saw they didn't charge us for it. I was excited to have tracked it down!

I wasn't sure what to do with the okara, having gotten my hands on it. I tasted it, and it is subtle, similar in taste to tofu but totally different in texture: firm but kinda dry, quite fibrous - some heft to it. I decided to fry it up with some sesame and veggies, much like my current favourite tempeh prep or a tofu scramble.

1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 in piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 an onion, peeled and sliced
1-2 tbsp sesame seeds
4-5 mushrooms,cleaned and sliced
1 small courgette, sliced
1 ball of okara
~2 tbsp mirin
~2 tbsp chickpea tamari

Heat the oils and add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook for a few minutes. Add the sesame seeds and cook a minute or so more until just starting to brown. Add the mushrooms and courgette and stir-fry for a few minutes more, until they soften. Add the okara and stir-fry for a few more minutes. Finally add the mirin and tamari (add more if you prefer) and mix it all up. Eat as it is, or with a little brown rice.


It's good. Interesting. All about the texture; I kind of like it.