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.jpg) Filtering okara from a fresh batch of homemade soymilk | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 豆渣 / 豆腐渣 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 雪花菜 / 御殻 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Kana | おから | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 비지 / 콩비지 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Okara,soy pulp, ortofu dregs is a pulp consisting of insoluble parts of thesoybean that remain afterpureed soybeans arefiltered in the production ofsoy milk andtofu. It is generally white or yellowish in color. It is part of the traditional cuisines ofJapan,Korea, andChina. Since the 20th century, it has been used in thevegetarian cuisines of other cultures.
It is calleddòuzhā ordòufuzhā inChinese,okara inJapanese, andbiji orkongbiji inKorean.
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 makingisolated soy protein, also called "soy protein isolate").
Okara is a foodby-product fromtofu andsoy drink production.[1]: 9 In 1983 it was estimated that the annual yield for okara in Japan was approximately 70,000 metric tons.[2]: 380
Due to its high moisture and nutrient content, okara is highly prone toputrefaction,[2]: 380 and this has limited its commercial use.[3]: 5
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, the gritty 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.[1]: 151 [4]: 168 [?] Most of the soybeanisoflavones are left in okara, as well as vitamin B and the fat-soluble nutritional factors, which includesoy lecithin,linoleic acid,linolenic acid,phytosterols,tocopherol, andvitamin D.[5]
Okara contains someantinutritional factors:trypsin inhibitors (mostly destroyed by cooking),saponins, andsoybean agglutinins, which cannot be easily digested.
Fermentation (by proper species of bacteria) of okara is conducive to digestion and absorption of okara nutrients, and it further improves the nutritional value. It can eliminate the bean's odor, increase the amount of edible fiber, free amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, vitamin B12, vitamin B2, andflavoprotein.[5]
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.[3]: 3–4
In Japan it is used in a side dish calledunohana which consists of okara cooked withsoy sauce,mirin, slicedcarrots,burdock root andshiitake mushrooms.[6]
Okara can be used to maketempeh, by fermenting with the fungusRhizopus oligosporus,[4]: 168 using a tempeh starter.[7] It can makepress cake tempeh using ingredients such as brown rice, bulgur wheat, soybeans and other legume and grain combinations.[8] Okara is also eaten as redoncom by theSundanese people on Java inIndonesia after fermentation byNeurospora.[9]
Okara is eaten in theShandong cuisine of eastern China by steaming a wet mixture of okara that has been formed into blocks ofzha doufu (also known asxiao doufu orcai doufu).[10]: 172
The product is sometimes used as an ingredient invegetarian burger patties. Additional uses include processing into a granola product, as an ingredient insoysage, as an egg replacement in vegan quiche, and as an ingredient inpâtés.[4]: 168
In Japan, there have been experiments with incorporating okara intoice cream.[11]
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Most okara is used asanimal feed, especially for farms in vicinity of soy milk or tofu factories.[3][4]: 168
The product is used as an ingredient in pet foods.[4]: 168
Okara is sometimes spread on fields as a natural nitrogen fertilizer. It addstilth to the soil. Likewise, it can be added tocompost to add organic nutrients and nitrogen.[4]: 168
When not considered foodstuff, it may be deemed 'soybean curd residue' (SCR). Some 800,000 tons of soybean curd residue is disposed annually as tofu production byproducts in Japan. As mass waste, it is a potential environmental problem because it is highly susceptible toputrefaction.[5]
The protein in SCR is of better quality than from other soy products; for example, theprotein efficiency ratio of SCR is 2.71 compared with 2.11 for soymilk. The ratio of essential amino acids to total amino acids is similar to tofu and soymilk.[5] Nevertheless, it remains a challenge to current processes to commercially extract the proteins and nutrients from SCR waste.
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