Okara or soy pulp is a leftover pulp from soybeans after the process of filtering soy milk and tofu. You may notice this on supermarkets displayed looking like ground grain or white to yellowish mash or goo. But are they of any use? What can they do?
Okara, The Miracle Healthy Food
Of course since it is made out of soy, it is still as healthy as a regular tofu or soy drink. There are tons you can do with okara plus it is highly nutritional. Here are the top 4 things I think you should know about okara.
1) Okara’s Nutritional Value
Okara or soy pulp is known to be high in nutrients. It contains a good amount of manganese, phosphorus, and protein. Plus, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, dietary fiber, vitamin B2, magnesium, vitamin K and potassium. Yes, all that. Which makes it a very good idea to take advantage of its nutrients. 1 cup of Okara means 90 calories with 4 grams of protein. If you ask me, that’s a better amount of protein than any green leafy thing.
Here’s the complete list of nutrients:
| Okara Nutrient Values (From the 5th Revised Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan) | |
| Energy | 111kcal |
| Protein | 6.1ｇ |
| Fat | 3.6g |
| Carbohydrate | 13.8ｇ |
| Sodium | 5㎎ |
| Potassium | 350㎎ |
| Calcium | 81㎎ |
| Magnesium | 40㎎ |
| Phosphorus | 99㎎ |
| Iron | 1.3㎎ |
| Zinc | 0.6㎎ |
| Copper | 0.14㎎ |
| Vitamin E | 0.7㎎ |
| Vitamin K | 8μg |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.11㎎ |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.03㎎ |
| Folic acid | 14μg |
| Cholesterol | 0 |
| Dietary fiber | 11.5g |
| （per 100g） |
2) Okara’s Shelf Life
Fresh okara will only last a few days, up to 3 days. After that it becomes rancid and sour. Just like regular food kept out of the fridge, the same thing happens with Okara. And, yes, you can put it in the fridge and it can last for 6 months.
If you don’t like freezing stuff, you can dry it. Spread it out in a pan, place it in the oven at 350 degrees celsius for 15 to 20 minutes , stir it every 5 minutes to help dry completely, and seal it in an air-tight bag. Bam! This lovely flour-like okara powder will also last 6 months.
3) Okara in the Recipes
One thing I’ll have you know about okara is that it lacks taste. Imagine it to be as tasteless as water. Imagine putting all those goodies we talked about in okara’s nutritional value added to your food with absolutely no added taste.
What can you do with it? Anything!
- Add it on stir fries for added protein and texture.
- Bake muffins, cookies and more desserts as an alternative for flour
- Use it as a gluten-free wheat flour replacement.
- As straight up vegetarian patties!
- Add it to meat balls, patties, and burgers.
- As a flour coating for all your fried stuff!
- Add hot water – and viola! Porridge!
- Add it to your egg scramble.
- Mix it with your smoothies and drinks.
Conclusion
Clearly, nature is giving us a valuable lesson here in this quote, “Sometimes that which is left out is the most useful of all.” Imagine something like okara could actually make amazing various recipes that are both healthy and tasty. Desserts, smoothies, breakfast, or for a full meal, you can experiment on it and make innovative food for your own palate. I’d love to get an okara for myself, too. Have you made recipes using okara?
References:
http://www.tofu-as.com/english/nutrition_facts/01effects/02.html