← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 225 g Okara (fresh soy pulp)
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 200 ml water, for soaking the shiitake
• 1 Carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1 Aburaage (thin fried tofu sheets), cut into thin strips
• 125 g Konnyaku (konjac block), cut into thin matchsticks
• 2 g Dried hijiki seaweed (optional)
• 80 g Green beans
• 1½ tbsp Toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp Mirin
• 1 tbsp Sake
• 2 tbsp light (usukuchi) soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 1 Spring onion, finely sliced

Method

1. Soak the shiitake in the water for 20 min (and the hijiki in a separate bowl of water). Squeeze the mushrooms, keeping the soaking liquid, and slice them thinly.
2. Boil the konnyaku in a small pan of water for 2 min to remove its smell, then drain. Pour boiling water over the fried tofu to wash off excess oil. Blanch the green beans for 1 minute, then slice them on the diagonal.
3. Heat the sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Stir-fry the carrot, shiitake, konnyaku, fried tofu and drained hijiki for 3 min.
4. Add the okara and keep stirring for 3–4 min until it looks fluffy and smells nutty.
5. Pour in 150 ml of the shiitake liquid with the mirin, sake, soy sauce, sugar and salt. Cook, stirring often, for 8–10 min until most of the liquid is absorbed but the okara is still moist, like soft crumbs.
6. Fold in the green beans and spring onion. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips

• Fresh okara is sold at tofu shops and Asian grocers; it freezes well in small bags.
• It keeps for 3–4 days in the fridge, which makes it a classic bento side.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Chopstick Chronicles