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09/04/2001 Archived Entry: "Amazing Soy"

Amazing Soy is Dana Jacobi’s second book on the subject, which pretty much makes her the culinary expert on soy products. If you know my attitudes at all, you know that I don’t care how good a food is for you, how much it will lower your cholesterol, prevent cancer, etc. If it doesn’t taste good, if I can’t enjoy it, I’m not going to eat it. I know, however, that soy can taste good, and/or that you can eat soy without even knowing it. Dana is a friend of long-standing and I have eaten many of her soy creations happily, joyfully, and sometimes not even being able to detect the soy in it.

According to our official, U.S. government nutrition police – the Food and Drug Administration -- and many health and nutrition professionals, we should be trying to eat 25 grams of soy protein a day. I don’t know enough to know if I believe that, but I figure it couldn’t hurt to get some soy in our diets. Dana makes it easy. I am trying to think of soy, as she does, as just another ingredient in my larder.

There are fresh, green soy beans, called edamame in Japanese and now in English, which I love to nibble on in Japanese restaurants. Why not include them in recipes? There is tofu, which I also enjoy in the many guises it comes in and ways it is used when I eat it in Asian restaurants. Why not include tofu in my cooking when appropriate? Such as a stand-in for chicken breast, which is often so bland these days it might as well be tofu. Soy milk is a great substitute for cow’s milk in baking, which is particularly useful to know if you are lactose intolerant or follow the Jewish dietary laws and want to make a dairy dish into a pareve dish. And, to name just one more soy product, there is something that is generically called “soy crumbles” and goes by several proprietary brand names, that makes a great, meaty filler in ground meat, chicken and turkey recipes. I particularly love what Dana does with it in her Florentine turkey meatloaf, which she brought to the radio studio for me to taste. I would never know this loaf was made with soy crumbles. Actually, it is so beefy tasting from Dana’s clever seasoning that I didn’t realize it was lean turkey until I was told. I won’t go on and on, as I can, because it is all in Dana’s book.

Following are two recipes from Amazing Soy. She brought both of them to the studio for me to try. You’ll have to check the book for the turkey meatloaf.

My Mother’s Vegetarian Chopped Liver

Serves 6

If you are not a Jew of Eastern European heritage, this dish sounds strange, but everyone loves it. My mother’s version was always unique, using canned baby sweet peas rather than the green beans most recipes call for. When I gave her some edamame, she used them instead. I prefer combining the edamame with some green peas. Spread this vegetarian chopped liver on crackers, or scoop it onto individual salad plates, surrounded by green bell pepper rings, and accompanied by matzos or your favorite crackers.

1 cup frozen shelled edamame
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup drained canned baby sweet peas
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the edamame in a pot of boiling salted water until they are tender, about 12 minutes. Drain the beans and place them in the bowl of a food processor.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, stirring to coat them with the oil. Sprinkle on the salt and sauté the onions until they are browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer the onions to the food processor.

Add the peas and pecans to the food processor, and pulse until the mixture has the texture of chopped liver. It should be dense, but spreadable. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, either place a lettuce leaf on a salad plate and top with a small ice cream scoop of the chopped liver or spread it on crackers.

The vegetarian chopped liver will keep for up to 3 days, tightly covered and refrigerated.


Chop Suey or Chow Mein

Serves 4 as a main course, 6 as part of a multi-course meal

Although chop suey is disrespected as a prostitution of refined Cantonese cooking, Ken Hom separates the legend of how it was created during the California Gold Rush, from fact—that in a poor rural area, tsap sui is a dish made frequently to use up scraps of food. In his fascinating book, Easy Family Recipes From A Chinese-American Childhood, Hom gives recipes for both this Chinese version and the Americanized one that is pure comfort food, if it is what you grew up eating. My version is a marriage of Ken Hom’s recipe and bean curd.

1 pound firm tofu, pressed in 2 slabs (see note)

For marinade:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons dry Sherry
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper
1 teaspoon roasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Seasoning Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry Sherry
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (see note)

For chop suey:
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced lengthwise into thin crescents
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups bok choy (white part only), cut diagonally in 1/2-inch slices
2 cups mung bean sprouts, rinsed and well dried
1 large rib celery, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chicken or vegetarian chicken broth

Cut each piece of tofu crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Stack 3 to 4 slices and cut them crosswise, making thin strips about 1-inch long. Set aside.

For the marinade: Combine the soy sauce, Sherry, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a bowl, and add the tofu strips. With a fork, mix gently to coat the tofu with the marinade. Set aside to marinate for 20 minutes.

For the binder: Combine the soy sauce, Sherry, cornstarch, and oyster sauce in a small bowl. Set it aside, leaving the spoon in the bowl.

To cook: Place a wok or skillet over high heat. When it is hot, drizzle the peanut oil around so it flows down the sides of the wok. Add the onions and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, bok choy, bean sprouts, celery, and salt. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the tofu with its marinade and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the broth and cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes.

Quickly remix the binder, and drizzle it into the pan while stir-frying. As soon as the sauce thickens, transfer the vegetables to a platter.

For Chop Suey, serve spooned over long-grain rice.

For Chow Mein, serve with fried noodles.

Note: Pressing Tofu

To press tofu, stand a block of it on its side, on a clean cutting board , setting it at roughly a 45-degree angle leading away from you. Slice the tofu vertically into two equal, inch-thick slabs.

Lay a piece of plastic wrap or foil on a cutting board to cover it. This prevents the tofu from picking up possible bacteria or the taste of other foods.

Arrange the two pieces of tofu, long sides together, in the center of the board. Cover them with a piece of wrap or foil. Lay another cutting board on top of the tofu, centering it. Weight the tofu until its sides curve slightly – two or three large cans of tomatoes work well. Arrange the weight evenly or the pressed slabs will be wedge-shaped. Check after 10 minutes or so to make sure the weight has stayed evenly balanced. Press the tofu for 30 to 60 minutes.

Pressed tofu will keep, in a tub of water, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and remain compressed. Depending on its freshness, if you change the water every day, it can keep for 3 to 4 days.

Note: Oyster-Flavored Sauce

Originally, this savory, thick brown sauce was made from only oysters, water, and salt. These days, it also contains caramel for color and cornstarch for thickening. Some brands also contain MSG, sugar, and other ingredients, so read the labels carefully when you shop. Lee Kum Kee and Hop Sing Lung are good brands. Wah Shan makes a vegetarian oyster sauce, using mushrooms.