In the sprouts, which are so good for health, or in the dehydrated soybean chunks, which are often used by vegetarians to add nutrients to their diet. Finally, there is tofu, soy cheeses with a very delicate flavor, to be spread on bread or blended with other ingredients and used as a condiment for pasta, whether of durum wheat or vermicelli.
Here are several recipes for the different soy-based ingredients.
Soybeans
Bean sprouts, which can be found in common supermarkets, or even in ethnic foods, are usually the growth of purple or green soybeans.
They can be eaten dressed in salads, mixed with lettuce, radicchio, or Belgian chicory, but also with field salad, the most delicate because they enhance its flavor. You can also add a few pieces of tofu with herbs.
A secret to cooking them is to put them in a pan for five minutes, after having rinsed them with plenty of water, adding a little olive oil, or soy, salt, and lots of ginger.
The scent of this spice is special and does not need to be mixed with anything else, such as garlic or onion, but only possible with very little soy sauce. The flavor of the sprouts will be the same as those ordered at the Chinese restaurant. To cook dehydrated soy instead, it takes about an hour.
Bites of soy
You can buy the bocconcini or so-called soy steaks. They are pieces of soy that must be soaked in warm water for about twenty minutes, and swell up to the size of a slice of bread, similar to the one used to prepare bruschetta.
Once soaked, the soy is gently squeezed with your hands and placed in a pan, where it can be cooked with what we love most: from mushrooms to vegetables, or to pizzaiola, adding some chopped tomatoes, garlic, and lots of oregano.
Assuming that soy is the favorite food of vegetarians and vegans, we can season it with whatever vegetable we have available and those we would use to season a slice of meat in a pan. You can also prepare scallops, with classic recipes, but substituting them for meat.
The more spices we use, the more soy, which really tastes like steak, will be good.
In any case, cooking must last no more than fifteen minutes otherwise we risk making it dry too much, but removing the lid at the end of cooking to whisk our ‘fake’ steak.
Tofu
Tofu: not everyone likes its chewy flavor, which is not reminiscent of either sprouts or dehydrated soybeans. It can be used as a cheese instead of feta in a classic Greek salad made of tomato, cucumber, olives, oil, onion, and lots of oregano, or it can be made as an excellent sauce for spaghetti.
In the mixer, put 70/80 grams of black and green olives, some capers, oil, salt, and a clove of garlic. Adding a spoonful of soy milk, the spaghetti drained al dente are seasoned.
