lemon okara cookies (photo by wm. christman)
tofu n. a cheeselike food made of curdled soybean milk.
Cheeselike. If you've ever made your own cheese, you know that there are by-products of that process (whey is one of them). With tofu, it's similar. The method of producing the soy milk that is curdled to make tofu leaves behind the fibrous remains of the soybeans, called okara, which can be used for a small variety of Japanese dishes. And okara can be used to make some really delicious cookies which are nutritious (low in fat, high in protein from the soy) and travel well. They are also considered a "diet" food in Japan.
You can get okara in Japanese (and some Korean) grocery stores. It comes in fresh and dried versions although getting fresh is best. Fresh okara looks like a cross between fresh white bread crumbs and freshly fallen snow.
You can also buy okara from companies, especially local ones, that make tofu. In the South Bay area, the San Jose Tofu Company near downtown San Jose not only has some of the best tasting tofu but also sells several of the tofu by-products including okara. (In Japan, major tofu manufacturers often provide okara to farms to use as feed for their livestock in addition to selling it for cooking.)
Okara cookies can be modified in a number of ways for taste and texture. Flavoring them is only limited to your imagination (two flavors are included here) and you can make them soft or crispy by playing with amounts of the ingredients and the baking time. The method to make them resembles the classic "refrigerator" cookies, similar to the recipe in the Betty Crocker Cookbook, which means you have lots of flexibility with them.
Okara Lemon Cookies
2 3/4 cups fresh okara (by-product of tofu making)*
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup lemon marmalade
* okara can be bought at a Japanese grocery store or a tofu shop.
1. Pat out or scatter the fresh okara into a thin layer on a cookie sheet and roast in a 250° degree oven for 15 minutes to dry it out well, then crumble it and let it cool.
2. Mix the rest of the dry ingredients (flour, corn starch, sugar) into the roasted, crumbled okara.
3. Mix in the butter and marmalade until the mixture forms into a cookie dough.
4. Roll the dough into a log shape, about 2-3 inches in diameter depending on how big you want you cookies, then wrap the log in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour (you can leave the dough in the refrigerator overnight as well).
5. When you're ready to bake the cookies, slice the log into 1/2 inch thick rounds, place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.
6. With a spatula, turn the cookies over and bake another 7 minutes.
7. Cool the cookies on wire rack and serve.
Variation: Okara Peanut Butter Cookies
The recipe is the same as above, except replace "lemon marmalade" with "peanut butter".
Store the cookies in an airtight container. Left in a cool place, they will last for 1-2 weeks.
