When you think of legumes or the humble bean, which
variety is the most versatile? Pinto beans can be cooked then consumed as is or
mashed for the perfect refried bean. Kidney beans are a must in Hawaii style
chili and they can also be mashed for a delicious spread. Garbanzos or
chickpeas can be consumed in a variety of dishes after soaking and boiling,
fried as a crunchy snack or mashed and combined with tahini or sesame paste for
the perfect hummus or even simply soaked, ground and combined with various herbs
and spices then fried for falafel goodness. So, it must be garbanzo beans,
right? Not even by a long shot. Simply think of the humble soybean.
The Bean
Both the wild Glycine soja and cultivated Glycine
max are native to East Asia with the Americas producing about 85% of the
planet’s soybean led by the US with about 35%. By comparison, China only
produces a little over 3% of the soybean crop. Of course, this dominance in the
agricultural market as a food and commodity comes with a price as most soybeans
grown in the US are genetically modified to be resistant to that ubiquitous
glyphosate-containing herbicide in the white spray bottle which boosts
production.
As a food, soybeans are valuable due to their high
protein content – almost double compared to other legumes. They also are very
versatile in a wide range of cooking applications whether consumed as is,
fermented, dried and ground or pressed. They also potentially have some
additional health benefits whether due to the isoflavones genistein and daidzein,
the sterol surfactant saponin or whether additional soy in the diet simply
reduces your consumption of fat laden animal proteins, the evidence is sufficient
that the FDA allows the statement “25 grams of soy protein a day, as part of a
diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease”
on the labeling of soy-based products. Like Cheerios in a bean.
Liquid Soy
Though the first liquid soy product that usually comes to
mind is soymilk, I won’t dwell on this vegan milk substitute as I already
highlighted various applications using soymilk at last year’s Soy and Tofu
Festival. The liquid I’m highlighting is that umami laden seasoning no
Asian chef can live without, shoyu. Created simply from soybeans, wheat,
salt and Aspergillus fungus, soy sauce was created well over 2000 years
ago in China during the Western Han dynasty. Chinese Buddhist monks introduced
it to Japan sometime in the 7th century.
The basic procedure for making shoyu usually
involves soaked then cooked soybeans are added to roasted and crushed wheat
then mixed with a Koji mold starter of Aspergillus as well as Saccharomyces
yeast and Bacillus and Lactobacillus bacteria. This cultured
mixture of soybeans, wheat and microorganisms are then mixed with salt and left
to ferment. Eventually the Aspergillus breaks down proteins in the beans
to amino acids and starch in the wheat to sugars. The amino acids and sugars react
giving shoyu its characteristic dark color. The Saccharomyces
creates ethanol which further breaks down to other flavor agents while the Bacillus
and Lactobacillus creates acids and other flavor agents. Eventually this
whole fermented mash is filtered and either aged or bottled for sale. The five
main varieties of Japanese shoyu include Koikuchi which is the standard
variety, Usukuchi which is saltier but lighter in color due to the use
of amazake or fermented rice water, Tamari which primarily uses
soybeans and very little or no wheat at all and has a richer flavor than Koikuchi,
Shiro which primarily uses wheat with very little soybean for a lighter
and sweeter flavor and Saishikomi or twice brewed using Koikuchi shoyu
as the brine so it’s the darkest and boldest flavored shoyu. Since I
hail from the 50th, I always have a large bottle of Aloha shoyu
which is created from acid-hydrolyzed soy protein instead of the traditional
fermented method but I use it just for marinades. I also keep a bottle of traditional
Koikuchi and Shiro in my refrigerator, the darker where stronger
flavors predominate and the Shiro for delicate seafoods.
Soy Paste
Like shoyu, miso is simply created with
soaked and cooked soybeans, Koji starter and salt. Unlike shoyu,
grains other than wheat can be mixed into the fermenting mash including barley,
rye, millet, buckwheat, rice and even hemp seed. And as you already know, miso
isn’t bottled as a liquid but sold as a paste. The two predominant forms of miso
are Shiromiso or white miso which is the most common type of miso
using barley and rice with a smaller quantity of soybeans resulting in a
lighter, sweeter miso and Akamiso or red miso which is
aged for up to a year or more which causes a chemical reaction (Maillard
reaction) of the amino acids and sugars giving the resulting paste a reddish or
even black coloration. Therefore, akamiso usually has a stronger, robust
flavor and greater umami qualities.
I use the stronger flavored akamiso with heartier
dishes like my smoked natto-mus and the shiromiso for lighter
dishes or for a miso marinade. Since I enjoy misoyaki butterfish
like any Asian diner, I decided to take it one step future by making the
traditional su-miso with sugar, sake, mirin, rice wine
vinegar and shiromiso but instead of marinating then grilling the fish,
simply wiped off the miso mixture after an overnight marination then sliced it
and enjoyed it sashimi style. It takes miso butterfish or salmon
to new heights! Dipped in a little shiro shoyu served with a daiginjo
sake… Oishikatta!
I also “marinate” cream cheese in the same miso
mixture minus the rice wine vinegar which I learned from Master Sushi
Chef Benkei at Vintage Cave. He lightly spread some of his miso cream
cheese between lightly smoked daikon. It was so good, I had to beg him for the
recipe!
The Meat Imposter
Since we’re well into summer with the usual grillin’ and
chillin’, what if you have guests who are vegetarian or vegan. Well, you can
purchase pre-packaged soy-based sausages, “burger” patties or other animal-free
products at the supermarket. Or you can be the consummate host and create your
own.
Soybean Patties
1 & 1/2 cups dried soybeans
½ cup shoyu
3 cups water
½ cup Awamori or sake
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp shiso furikake
2 tsp Hon Dashi (or konbu dashi for vegan
consumption)
½ tsp ground ginger
Place all of the ingredients in a pressure and cook on
low pressure for 1 hour. Drain and rinse cooked soybeans.
¼ cup tahini (sesame paste)
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp olive or macadamia nut oil
½ cup roughly chopped green onions
½ cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
3 egg whites (or 1/3 cup bread crumbs for vegan
consumption)
1 tbsp shiso furikake
Fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste.
Mix the drained and cooled soybeans along with the rest
of the ingredients in a food processor – my 7-cup model strained with this
amount so you’ll probably need a larger sized food processor.
Grab tennis ball sized lumps of the mixture and press
into roughly 4-inch round patties. Place on a half sheet pan lined with either
parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil and bake at 325 degrees for 20
minutes then gently flip and continue for another 20 minutes. Serve and garnish
like traditional hamburgers.
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