Wednesday 5 September 2012

Okara Mantou And Okara Omelette


Remember in the previous Homemade Organic Soymilk post we mentioned about Okara (豆渣) which is rich in dietary fiber. Instead of throwing them away after filtering the soymilk you could actually use it in your daily cooking or bakes to enhance the flavour as well as the nutritious values of the food.

To be honest, I have never taste or eaten "Okara" before I have this soymilk maker, so trying out various recipes using Okara is such an amazing experience and both my family and friends enjoy this new "taste and texture" too.


OKARA CHARCOAL MANTOU
豆渣馒头



This Okara Mantou is inspired by one of my boy classmates' mum who makes soft and delicious mantou using homemake soymilk and okara. So with my leftover black soybean okara and soymilk I decided to make this "black" Okara Charcoal Mantou.


(Serves: 10 - 12 pieces   | Preparation: 90 minutes  | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
  • 280g Plain Flour
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Charcoal Powder (竹碳粉)
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 20g Tablespoon Caster Sugar
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 100g Okara (豆渣), drain well
  • 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
  • 1/2 Teaspoon of Dry Yeast
  • 40ml Lukewarm Water

Method:-
1. Add dry yeast into the lukewarm water and give it a quick stir, set aside for about 5 minutes till bubbles appeared.

2. Sift plain flour and baking powder together in a big bowl with the caster sugar and salt till combined.

3. Next slowly add in yeast water into the flour mixture and stir using a metal spoon or clean hand follow by okara till it forms soft dough.

4. Add in oil and give the dough a quick knead till well combine or dough does not stick to your hand.

5. Set dough aside in a lightly flour/oil bowl, covered with cling wrap and let it proof for about 30 minutes or until dough became double the size.


6. Knead proof dough on a lightly floured work surface for about 5 minutes, flatten and roll into a rectangular shape, roll it up lengthwise into an oblong shape.

7. Repeat the process once or twice depends on your preference.

8. Roll the final dough into oblong shape, cut them into equal portions, place each shaped mantou on steamer rack with greaseproof paper below.

9. Spray some water on the mantou before steaming them over medium heat for about 13 - 15 minutes. (depending on the size of the mantou)

10. When done, removed and served hot/warm. You can keep cool mantou in the freezer for a week or so. Reheat by steaming it for 5 minutes before eating.

Note:
~ Lukewarm is about 36 - 37 degree Celsius


This is the Black Soybean Okara which is being filtered from the soymilk. It can be kept in the fridge for about 2 - 3 days.


OKARA OMELETTE
(豆渣煎蛋)



Other than steamed bun, I have also in cooperate Okara into our daily dishes by add it into omelette. This dish could be consider as half vegetarian dish if egg is allowed. We love this omelette dish a lot as it taste quiet similar to the usual "Minced Meat Omelette (肉碎煎蛋)" and when eaten you can't even tell Okara is added to it. The omelette has a very fragrant and slight sweet taste (read more here on how to filter the okara) which makes it different from the usual fried omelette dish.


(Serves: 2  | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:
2 Eggs (55g each)
2 - 3 Tablespoons Okara (豆渣)
1/2 Tablespoon Wolfberries
1 Tablespoon Chopped Spring Onion
Pinch of Salt


Method:-
1. Add all the ingredients into a bowl, whisk till combined.

2. Preheat 1/2 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, pour in egg mixture, swirl and spread it evenly around the pan.

3. Fry the omelette for about 2 minutes on medium low heat till slight golden brown in colour, carefully flip it over using a spatula. Cook for another minute or two.

4. Dish up and serve.

Other than the above two recipes on using Okara, do stay tune for the my "Black Butter Cake" which I have give it a twist on adding okara into the normal butter cake recipe. Stay tune!

20 comments:

  1. Gosh!
    We really love the way you shot Okara Mantou And Okara Omelette
    You are really not just a food blogger, we think that you are a professional food photographer.

    As a food photography site, we're always looking for best food pictures to feature on our site http://www.foodporn.net/

    Why don't you submit yours and make other people hungry.
    You know it’s fun to make others hungry. Especially when they are so hungry they finally want to create your recipe. :)
    It is worth the try. :)
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amazing recipes with leftover. No waste then. Have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, great post there. Just wanna know, is there any substitute we can use if we do not have okara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Actually this is an extra ingredients to enhance nutritious value or use as a replacement for minced meat to make meat omelette. If you want, you can replaced by some minced meat.

      Delete
  4. Thanks for sharing. This is healthy recipes. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very unique ... one of my favorites for ground up soy meal is called kongbiji jigae (a Korean dish)
    http://asiansupper.com/recipe/kongbiji-jjigae-ground-soybean-stew

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Asian Supper, kongbiji jigae sounds interesting I love Korean food too, shld try out the recipe soon :) Thanks for sharing.

      Delete
  6. You can fry okara with bittergourd! It's like the okinawan chanpuru.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great idea,I read about this bittergourd dish in one of the food review post before. So is it that i just add the okara into beaten egg and fry?

      Delete
  7. Ellena, you are always inspiring me. My grandma and my mom always use okara to cook some delicious food but I didn't learn how to make my favorite food from them. Like you said it's very nutritious and also delicious if you cook it right. I love your mantou and omelette!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nami, You should faster go ask your mum for recipes that I could learn and share it via your posts :) It's very taste and we all love it!

      Delete
  8. Very interesting recipe. It's new for me.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi,

    Where can I get charcoal powder in Singapore?

    Regards
    Mel

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mel, You can get it from "Kitchen Capers" at
      Block 71 #01-531F Kallang Bahru Tel : +65 63920159

      Delete
  10. Hi Ellena

    Will u be putting up the recipe for the Black butter cake with okara?
    I have been anticipating it.Very curious with the taste and would like to do it with my okara soon.:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lynn,

      Yes yes I would be sharing the recipe soon. It's on the queuing list :) Stay tune!

      Delete
  11. Oh great! I tried Banana Cake with Okara ytd, turn out real good. The texture is in between dense n spongy. I am unsure about the proportion so i added half cup of okara. Glad it turn out well:)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi there, I like the Okara Mantao. May I know what type of plain flour to be used?
    Thank you.
    Regards,
    Jenny

    ReplyDelete
  13. Can i sub in whole wheat flour? and can i not use charcoal power?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there you can use whole wheat flour but then the texture might be a bit dry so you have to play around with the amount of water. Sure, you can omit the charcoal power, no worries on that.

      Delete

Dear All,

Thanks for leaving down your comments. I do value each and every of your suggestion(s) or comment(s) so if you are signing off as Anonymous, please kindly leave your Name so that I could address you. Thanks

Lastly, please DO NOT SPAM as Spam comments will be deleted immediately.

Regards
Ellena (Cuisine Paradise)

ShareThis