Monday, October 1, 2012

Okara "chicken" nuggets (or strips)




This is the kind of recipe that throws some people into a panic: it’s got two cooking stages!  But never fear.  Neither of the stages takes a long time in terms of labour, and you can break up the task: cook the “chicken” mixture up to four days ahead and cut and crumb when you’re ready.  In fact, the cooked "chicken" mixture is a great standby to have in the refrigerator.  It can be the base for so many things, from a simple breakfast sandwich to a "chicken" Parmigiana.

(4 servings)

Ingredients:
For “chicken” –
2 large chicken stock cubes (or 4 small)
1/4 cup boiling water
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. yellow (German) mustard
1 1/2 cups okara
3/4 cup flour
2 tbsp. gluten
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper
For crumbing and frying –
1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/4 cup milk whisked with 1/4 cup yoghurt)
oil for frying

Method:
1. Dissolve stock cubes in boiling water.  Add soy and Worcestershire sauces and mustard; set aside.  Combine okara, flour, gluten, salt, oregano, thyme, and pepper.  Add stock mixture, and knead with hands until well combined.
2. Press mixture firmly into a greased cake pan, and cover with foil.  Place in a frying pan, and fill frying pan with enough boiling water to come halfway up sides.  Cover, and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat to medium-high, and cook for about 45 min., until set and firm.  Remove from heat, peel off foil, and allow to cool completely.  (Mixture will get even firmer as it cools.)
3. In a ziplock back, combine breadcrumbs, flour, garlic and baking powder, and salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk together egg and buttermilk.
4. Unmould “chicken” mixture.  Cut into small rounds or ovals with a cookie cutter for nuggets, or into strips with a knife for chicken strips.  Dip nuggets or strips into egg mixture, and as they’re dipped drop them into the bag.  When they’re all done, seal bag, and shake.  Fry nuggets or strips in hot oil until golden, and drain on crumpled paper towels.  Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice, or in a sandwich with mayo, lettuce and tomato.   

6 comments:

  1. This is my go-to okara recipe. Everyone loves it! I usually make a double batch, let it boil just until I think it'll stick together, then pop it in the toaster oven to form a crust on top. I also can't be bothered to wash Ziplocs so instead of shaking I just dip the strips in flour after the egg mixture. Last night my housemate seasoned the breading and it was the best we've ever had. He used soul food salt, NYF, parsley flakes and a couple of secret ingredients. Thanks so much for putting this recipe out there!!

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  2. Is this recipe for fresh okara or dried okara? I just made soymilk and would like to find a use for this okara

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  3. This is so great! Have just used your recipe for the second time. Everyone loves KT. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. This is a really good way to use up all that okara I had from making soymilk, I only changed the batter by using a flax egg and almond milk, and halved the amount of breading, but it tasted amazing, and perfectly filling for my lunches, thanks so much for this recipe! :)

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