Okara (food)

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This article is about a food. For the city of the same name, see Okara, Pakistan.

Unohana redirects here. For the Bleach character, see Retsu Unohana.

Okara
Chinese name
Chinese characters	雪花菜 or 豆腐渣
Hànyǔ Pīnyīn	xuě huā caì or doù fǔ zhā
Japanese name
Hiragana	おから
Rōmaji	okara
Korean name
Hangul	비지
Revised Romanisation	biji

Okara or soy pulp is a white or yellowish pulp consisting of insoluble parts of the soybean which remain in the filter sack when pureed soybeans are filtered in the production of soy milk. It is low in fat, high in fiber, and also contains protein, calcium, iron, and riboflavin.

Okara contains 76 to 80% moisture, 20 to 24% solids and 3.5 to 4.0% protein. On a dry weight basis okara contains 24% protein, 8 to 15% fats,and 12 to 14.5% crude fiber. It contains 17% of the protein from the original soybeans.

[edit] Uses

While relatively flavourless when eaten on its own, it can be used in stews such as the Korean biji-jjigae (비지찌개),^photo or in porridges, or as a taste neutral addition to bread and pastry doughs. In Japan it is used in a side dish called unohana (卯の花),^photo which consists of okara cooked with soy sauce, mirin, sliced carrots, burdock root and shiitake mushrooms. Okara can also be fermented with the fungus Rhizopus oligosporus to make okara tempeh (called tempe gembus in Indonesian). In Korea, okara is called kongbiji (콩비지).

However, as a significant byproduct of soy milk and tofu manufacturing, okara is commonly used as animal feed since its production usually exceeds demands for human consumption. For this reason, it is not uncommon for tofu and soymilk factories to be located close to animal farms in many Asian countries. In western countries, okara is used almost exclusively for the production of pig and cattle feed, although it does appear as an ingredient for vegetarian burger patties.

Okara is also the raw material for a "novel" textile fiber. SOYSILK (r) is the registered Trademark of SWTC INC (www.soysilk.com) who first introduced it to the textile community.