Okara (food)

"Unohana" and "tofu dreg" redirect here. For the Bleach (manga) character, see Retsu Unohana. For the poorly constructed buildings in China, see Tofu-dreg project.

Okara
Filtering okara from a fresh batch of homemade soymilk.
Chinese name
Chinese	雪花菜, 豆渣 or 豆腐渣
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin xuě huā cài or doùfǔ zhā
Japanese name
Kanji	御殻 or 雪花菜
Hiragana	おから
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn okara
Korean name
Hangul	비지 or 콩비지
Transcriptions Revised Romanization biji or kongbiji

Okara, soy pulp, or tofu dreg is a pulp consisting of insoluble parts of the soybean which remains after pureed soybeans are filtered in the production of soy milk and tofu. It is generally white or yellowish in color. It is part of the traditional cuisines of Japan, Korea, and China, and since the 20th century has also been used in the vegetarian cuisines of Western nations.

Okara is the oldest of three basic types of soy fiber. The other two are soy bran (finely ground soybean hulls), and soy cotyledon/isolate fiber (the fiber that remains after making isolated soy protein, also called "soy protein isolate").

Production

Okara is a food by-product from tofu and soy milk production. In 1983 it was estimated that the annual yield for okara in Japan was approximately 70,000 metric tons.

Due to its high moisture and nutrient content, okara is highly prone to putrefaction, and this has limited its commercial use.

Composition

Okara that is firmly packed consists of 3.5 to 4.0% protein, 76 to 80% moisture and 20 to 24% of solids. When moisture free, okara contains 8 to 15% fats, 12 to 14.5% crude fiber and 24% protein, and contains 17% of the protein from the source soybeans. It also contains potassium, calcium, niacin.

Uses

Most okara worldwide is used as feed for livestock - especially hogs and dairy cows. Most of the rest is used as a natural fertilizer or compost, which is fairly rich in nitrogen. A small amount is used in cookery.

Unohana, a typical Japanese dish made from okara

Vegan okara burgers

Okara in a sieve

Human consumption

While relatively flavourless when eaten on its own, it can be used in stews such as the Korean biji-jjigae or in porridges. It's also used as an addition to baked goods such as breads, cookies and muffins, and can serve to create a crumbly texture in these foods.

In Japan it is used in a side dish called unohana which consists of okara cooked with soy sauce, mirin, sliced carrots, burdock root and shiitake mushrooms.

Okara can be used to make tempeh, by fermenting with the fungus Rhizopus oligosporus, using a tempeh starter, or to make presscake tempehs that use ingredients such as brown rice, bulgur wheat, soybeans and other legume and grain combinations.

Okara is also eaten in the Shandong cuisine of eastern China by steaming a wet mixture of okara that has been formed into blocks of zha doufu also known as xiao doufu or cai doufu.

The product is sometimes used as an ingredient in vegetarian burger patties. Additional uses include processing into a granola product, as an ingredient in soysage and as an ingredient in pâtés.

Livestock consumption

Most okara is used as animal feed, especially for farms in vicinity of soy milk or tofu factories.

In pet food

The product is also utilized as an ingredient in pet foods.

As fertilizer or compost

Okara is sometimes spread on fields as a natural nitrogen fertilizer. It also adds tilth to the soil. Likewise, it can be added to compost to add organic nutrients and nitrogen.

See also

• Food portal

External links

• Ellen's Kitchen: okara tempeh
• Okara Mountain: recipe blog
• Okara Project: recipe blog