My second batch of tofu has been made. I was so surprised when Vince asked when I was going to make tofu again! He loves it. I’m not going to say eating tofu is healthy or unhealthy. I always go back to this article in Bon Appetit, which makes me smile. So much of life, especially what we eat, is that way. Good for you one day . . going to send you to an early grave the next.
Back to my tofu story . .
Tofu
There’s my perfect slab of tofu! It ended up being 9.5 oz.
Tofu
The slab is flipped over and will drain on paper towels til I’m ready to use it.
The “leftovers” from making tofu is called okara. It’s basically ground up soybeans that have been boiled and the “milk” removed.
Okara
It’s edible and is said to have lots of health benefits too . . who knows?
The last time I made tofu (which was the first time), I knew I could save the okara but wasn’t sure what to do with it and ended up giving some of it to the chickens and then tossing the rest of it in the compost pile.
This time I saved it and have found several recipes that I really like. It has a bit of a nutty crunch. I added it to tuna.
Tuna Okara Salad
Tuna Okara Salad
That was a big hit!
Also, I spread some of it out and let it dry, mixed it with Panko, then used it as a coating for fried pork cutlets. Probably managed to wipe away any health benefits with the frying! Vince smoked some salmon and we like to take the leftovers and mix with cream cheese, pickle relish and make a spread. We added okara to that and it was good too.
We’re really enjoying making and eating tofu!
pattilynn9 says
I’ve never seen, felt or tasted okara. But, just by looking at your picture, I’m wondering if you could use it to make a cracker? – You’re such an adventurous cook!! I try new dishes with food I’m used to, but seldom try (all new, to me) ingredients. I DO really enjoy reading about your cooking.
Rebecca in SoCal says
Adventurous cook, yes! And yay! I was just thinking of a friend who likes to cook, but doesn’t like a whole, big, lot of things. (She’s known to wrinkle her nose and say “ew”). I think she has tried tofu, even though it’s not cooked in butter!