miso-okara soup

Miso soup is an obvious choice for the addition of okara. And as long as you get the water-to-miso ratio right, it's pretty hard to mess up. Feel free to play around with the following recipe. You might like to add additional vegetables, or increase the proportions of the vegetables that are called for. The recipe also makes a lot of soup, so you might want to cut it in half, too.



Bring
12 cups water
to a boil in a large pot, and add
2 Tablespoons tamari (soy sauce)
6 oz. (about 8 cups) coarsely chopped spinach
8 oz. (about 3 cups) thinly sliced white mushrooms
4 scallions, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped

Variation: Thinly sliced radishes also go great in miso soup. Plus, their greens are edible and can be chopped up and thrown into the mix along with the spinach.

Boil for several minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Reduce heat to low, remove some of the broth (a cup or so) and transfer it to a bowl. To this bowl, add
2/3 cup miso
and blend the miso into the water until there are no lumps left.



Return the miso mixture to the pot and blend with the rest of the broth. Add
4 oz. silken tofu, cut into cubes
1 cup okara
and stir into the soup.

Note: What size cubes should the tofu be cut into? Whatever size you want them to be when you eat them.

When the mixture is heated through, the miso soup is ready to serve. Make sure you give it a good stir before ladling it into bowls -- the miso and okara tend to settle to the bottom.

Note: A widespread claim about miso is that it has nutritive properties that disappear once the miso is boiled. I am skeptical of this claim, but on the other hand, it doesn't take much effort to make sure the soup doesn't boil once the miso is added in, so what the heck. Use this information as you see fit.

Verdict: I think this tastes great, although I wish I had added another carrot or two, as well as additional tofu. (I was working with what I had on hand, though.) I also think the soup could have withstood even more okara.