Imagine a cheap way to get your protein, vitamins and minerals without having to spend a lot of money every week. Can you think of it? If you answered "Steal from your neighbor's garden." then that's the incorrect answer and stay away from my yard. If you answered "Make soy milk of course!" then that is the correct answer and thus will be rewarded with this divine recipe!
If you can't find soy beans in your local grocery store, more than likely any Asian market or grocery store you go to will. Make sure to look for organic split soy beans to avoid those nasty GMO's, and to buy a few good packets of them for good measure. Once you've done that, wash about 1 cup of your soybeans and then soak them in enough water to cover them for 12-24 hours or so, and if you want your soy milk to look more like store-bought, use double the amount of soy beans and some more water. Once the hours are up you can drain most of the water and then place them into a pot (or a microwave-safe bowl) and heat them on high for about 2-4 minutes. Once that is done, add about 6-8 cups of cold water to a large glass blender and drain your soy beans over the sink. Once they are drained, place the first half into the blender and blend it until the bottom is nothing but mashed soy beans. Sift that out into a bowl once and put the liquid back in, moving the soybeans (or Okara) to a different bowl. Next, add the second half of soy beans into the liquid and repeat the process.
Sift it through as many times as possible until there is no detectable soy bean mulch left. Place the used soy beans in the bowl with the rest and you can immediately make the protein-filled okara burgers (after the soy-milk is made). Once you have all of your soy milk ready, add it to a large pot and boil it for about 10 minutes, and once those ten minutes are up add 1 teaspoon of iodized salt, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Stir it together and put it into a container (mine has a built-in strainer). If you want it to be healthy you can add a crushed vitamin B12 packet and a crushed Calcium Magnesium tablet for every half gallon of soy milk as well.
Let it cool and enjoy as is or you can make it into tofu (if unflavored). As the soy milk is cooling, prepare to make enough okara burgers to eat for a week. Take half of the okara mixture and combine it with about 4 ounces of pressed silken tofu, blend it through until it turns into a paste, then add it to the rest of the chunky okara and use it as a binder. Sprinkle it liberally with salt, pepper and any other spices you want in your burger. After that is done, heat up some leftover vegetables from your fridge in a well-oiled pan until they soften up. I had red and green bell pepper, garlic and onions in my fridge, but anything is fine. After you've done that, add the cooked vegetables to the okara and sprinkle in about half a cup or so of Panko (Japanese Bread Crumbs) and mix it all together. Form patties with them (I only used about three tablespoons for each) and if you like you can twirl them around in an equal mixture of cornstarch in water and then press them into more breadcrumbs seasoned with salt and pepper. Once all of the patties have been assembled, heat up a pan with some oil and delicately place a small batch of burgers with it. Be careful when you flip it when the other side has turned golden brown, and place the burgers onto a plate, being careful not to let too many breadcrumbs soak up the oil and end up in the pan. Once the last batch is done you can make them into little sliders, cover them in sriracha, or make a tofu tartar sauce.
Okara Burgers Recipe:
1-2 cups of Okara (mashed soybeans)
About a cup of minced Veggies
1/2 a cup Tofu (any type)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Tofu Tartar Sauce Recipe:
1/2 a cup of pressed Silken Tofu
2 tbl Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 a tsp Iodized Salt
1/2 a teaspoon of White Vinegar (or to your taste)
1-2 tsp of
Dijon Mustard
Pepper to taste
Minced Sweet Pickles (any amount)
A dash of Paprika
A tbl of Olive Oil
Soy Milk Recipe:
Organic Split Soy beans
6-8 cups Cold Water
Iodized Salt
Vanilla Extract
Tools Needed For Soymilk:
1 Glass Blender
1-2 Large Strainers
2 Large Bowls
Enjoy!
Signed,
<3 Bou Shin <3
