The traditional tofu shops of Japan offer an astonishing variety of prepared tofu dishes: fried, deep-fried, freeze-dried, silky, firm, soft, grilled, mixed with vegetables and formed into a ball – and much more. The left-over soybean pulp, okara, was always given away for free when I lived in Japan. There was a big bucket near the entrance of the shop, and one could fill up a bag and take it home. Okara is rich in fiber and other nutrients, and works well to thicken soups and stews.
Another strange by-product from making tofu is yuba, the skin that forms after soymilk has been boiled. It is scooped up and then dried for a few days. Like tofu, it doesn’t have much of a taste by itself but picks up the flavors of what it’s cooked with. It has a slightly rubbery texture and can be added to stir-fries or used as a wrapper for vegetables, similar to spring rolls.
And then there is abura-age, deep-fried slices of tofu which can be opened and filled, like pouches. When the pouches are first cooked in broth and then stuffed with rice, they’re called inari-sushi.
During the four years that I lived in Japan I totally fell in love with tofu. It’s been a staple of my daily diet, and ever since I became vegan over 20 years ago I drink a lot of soy milk as well. So, when I read that soybeans contribute to the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and to the loss of biodiversity, I wanted to find out whether this was correct. And it’s true: Brazil is the world’s largest producer of soybeans and grows 133 million tonnes of soy per year. Huge portions of the rainforest have been converted into industrial soybean farms – over the last twenty years, the area used for soybeans has more than doubled, from 15 million ha to 37 million ha1. Because the trees of the rainforest produce 20 percent of the Earth’s oxygen2 and absorb more than 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year3, the health of our planet is severely threatened by continuing deforestation. Add the fact that soy crops are grown in monoculture systems (also in the US, which is the second-largest grower after Brazil with 117 million tonnes) which use enormous amounts of pesticides and that most soybeans grown in the US are genetically modified, and one wonders whether the consumption of tofu and soymilk is ethically justifiable.
But not so fast! Only between 2 to 6 percent of grown soybeans are turned into food products for human consumption. More than 80 percent is fed to livestock, mostly chickens and pigs, but also cows and farmed fish. Most of the soybeans produced in the world sare used by the animal agriculture industry. Eat your tofu, drink your soymilk (make sure it’s organic), but stop eating meat – the best way to stop the destruction of the Rainforest (and our Earth).
Another claim that soybeans are bad for you comes from uninformed promoters of a Paleo diet who claim that soy products cause thyroid problems, cause serious hormone imbalances, can increase the risk of heart disease, and even can cause cancer. They also claim that Japanese (and Chinese and Korean) people don’t really eat that much soy as the industry wants us to believe (!)4. Well, I know from personal experience that this is hogwash: many Japanese eat miso soup (which contains tofu) three times a day, starting with breakfast. And there are many studies from health experts who recommend soy-rich diets; here is one of them.
Now that we have established that it won’t kill you to eat tofu, here is a recipe that my daughter loved when she was little (and still does):
Tofu-Patties:
Ingredients:
1 LB extra-firm tofu
¼ c soy sauce
½ t smoked paprika
¼ t cayenne pepper
2 flax eggs *
½ medium-sized onion, finely chopped
2 TS capers (optional, leave out if you don’t like them)
½ c peeled, cubed butternut squash
½ c breadcrumbs
2 TS olive oil (plus 2 T if pan-fried)
* 1 Flax egg:
1 TS ground flax seeds mixed with 3-4 TS water. Let rest 10 - 15 minutes.
Preparation:
Prepare the 2 flax eggs.
Crumble the tofu into grain-like pieces (I cut the block into large chunks and then use my fingers to crumble it, or you can mash it with a fork). In a medium-sized bowl, combine the tofu with soy sauce and any spices you want to use, let soak for 15 minutes.
Heat 2 TS olive oil in a frying pan over medium high heat, saute the onions until translucent and slightly browned. Lower the heat a bit, add the squash and simmer for 10 minutes or until squash is softened. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down. Then add it to the crumbled tofu, together with the flax eggs and breadcrumbs. Mix well.
Use your hands to form patties with a diameter of about 2 ½ - 3 inches and about ¼ inch deep.
I tried three different ways to finish the patties:
Baked:
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Place the patties on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. The outside became evenly brown and crisp, while being soft inside.
Air Fried:
I placed the patties in my air fryer and let it run for 10 minutes at 400 F. They turned out to be somewhat more crunchy.
Pan-fried:
I added 2 TS olive oil to a frying pan. When the oil was hot, I placed the patties into the pan and fried them for about 5 minutes on each side. The coloring wasn’t as even as with the other two methods.
Choose your preferred method, and enjoy.
I'm so glad to hear that! Let me know if you have questions, or if I can assist in any way. You're heading in the right direction! 😍
Heading towards vegetarian diet, this was helpful. Thanks!