Super soy

For quick meals, frozen edamame is one of the most useful foods in my kitchen.

By FAYE LEVY
edamame 88 224 (photo credit: Courtesy)
edamame 88 224
(photo credit: Courtesy)
'Try these - they're green soy beans," I said to a friend as I served a vegetable medley accented with the bright green shelled beans. "They're delicious," he said. "They taste like edamame!" Like him, many diners who have encountered edamame at Japanese restaurants, where these popular beans are served in their pods as appetizers, may not have realized that they are soybeans. Tofu or bean curd, the best known soy food, is "one of the oldest processed foods known to man," according to Akasha Richmond chef-owner of Akasha restaurant in Culver City, California, and author of The Art of Tofu. Soybeans originated in China thousands of years ago and spread to Japan and other regions of East Asia. Although they arrived in the United States only in the 18th century, today the US is the world's leading commercial producer. My first encounter with soy foods was in Israel, more than 35 years ago. Like my neighbors, I bought soy cubes to grind with beef, which was expensive, to save money when making meatballs and meat loaf. I was introduced to tofu in Paris in the late 1970s, where I took a course from Chinese cooking expert Nina Simonds. In France tofu could be purchased then only at a few small Asian grocery stores. The French call tofu fromage de soja (soy cheese) and for good reason. It is made from soy milk in a similar way that dairy cheese is made from cows' milk. Simonds wrote in Spices of Life: "While Westerners have begun to appreciate the health-giving properties of tofu, they have been slow to recognize its culinary potential." In Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and other Asian cuisines, tofu and other soy foods are not treated simply as meat substitutes. Instead they are considered versatile ingredients on their own to add to a variety of dishes, including some that contain meat or seafood. Soy foods star on menus of vegetarian restaurants, including elegant high-class eateries like Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco. For the paella in The Millennium Cookbook, authors Eric Tucker and John Westerdahl use smoked tofu and oyster mushrooms instead of seafood or meat, combined with saffron basmati rice and chili aioli (rich garlic sauce). Now tofu and soy milk are easy to find in supermarkets in America, Europe and Israel; some markets carry edamame as well. At the Los Angeles Tofu Festival, I sampled a spicy Korean seafood soup with tofu cubes, a Chinese mango tofu pudding and American brownies enriched with tofu. All were delicious illustrations of soy's growing popularity in the West. For quick meals, frozen edamame are one of the most useful foods in my kitchen. Ready in a few minutes, you can use them like frozen peas to enhance soups, stews, salads and noodle and rice dishes with their delicious flavor and lively hue. They make a lively embellishment for my chicken matza-ball soup. Like other beans, soy beans are available dried and canned, especially at natural foods stores, and are a pleasant addition to stews and soups. Dried yellow soy beans take about three hours to cook. Unlike white and red beans, they retain a firm, slightly chewy texture when cooked. Tofu comes packed in water and refrigerated, as well as in shelf-stable, aseptic cartons. Patricia Greenberg advises in The Whole Soy Cookbook to change the water in the water-packed type every day. Once opened, this tofu keeps about five days. You don't need to cook Asian style to enjoy tofu. It is a great addition to familiar foods. Generally soft or silken tofu is used for dips and mousses; medium or firm tofu is preferable when you want a dish with a meaty texture. Because tofu is ready to eat, it's a boon to cooks in a hurry. Add it to soups and stews at the last minute, or bake it in a sauce so it will absorb the seasonings. To turn my French-style ratatouille into an entree, I briefly simmer tofu cubes in the stew's garlicky, herbed tomato sauce, so they gain a lively taste. Ming Tsai, author of Simply Ming (with Arthur Boehm), uses silken tofu to replace the traditional raw egg in caesar salad dressing. To make Hungarian stuffed cabbage, Richmond combines tofu with sauteed leeks, garlic, chopped mushrooms and cooked rice, and simmers the filled leaves in sweet and sour tomato sauce. She also uses tofu to replace eggs in chocolate chip cookies and coffee cake. Soy milk is a great parve substitute for milk. When using it in cream sauces and soups, select a brand with a sugar content similar to that of cows' milk (10 to 12 grams per cup) or less. Greenberg uses soy milk in potatoes au gratin, as it gives the potatoes a rich, creamy flavor, which contrasts with a golden-brown soy cheese and bread-crumb crust. For sweets like chocolate ganache, I like soy milk as a replacement for all or part of the cream. Soy foods are great imitators and are used to simulate both meats like cold cuts and dairy foods. With less saturated fat than their dairy counterparts, soy cheeses and soy ice creams are appreciated by nutrition-conscious eaters, as well as people who are lactose intolerant. Visit an Asian supermarket, and you'll discover many other soy products, like soy chicken and fish. These ready-to-eat imitation meats are a staple of Chinese vegetarian restaurants and Vietnamese sandwich shops. Soy is made into snacks too - soy nuts, roasted edamame and Chinese snacks that resemble beef jerky. Soynut butter can be used like peanut butter. For seasoning, there is not only soy sauce but also miso, a fermented flavoring paste made from soybeans and grains. Richmond sums up the best reason to use soy food. When she was a caterer, she noted that her celebrity clients "wanted it all - dishes that looked luscious, tasted terrific and would keep them looking and feeling great... The one ingredient that made my dishes work for everyone was... tofu." EASY RATATOUILLE WITH TOFU This savory, colorful main course is great with white basmati or brown rice, or with crusty French bread. 2 to 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 3 large garlic cloves, chopped 450 gr. eggplant, unpeeled, cut in 2-cm. cubes 1 small sweet red or green pepper, cut in 2-cm. squares Salt and freshly ground pepper an 800-gr. can diced tomatoes, drained (juice reserved) 1 bay leaf 225 gr. zucchini, unpeeled, cut in 2.5-cm. cubes 400 to 450 gr. firm tofu, drained and cut in 2-cm. cubes 1⁄2 tsp. dried thyme 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage (optional) 2 Tbsp. chopped parsley Heat oil in a heavy, wide stew pan. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes over medium heat. Stir in garlic, then eggplant, bell pepper, salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring, about 3 minutes. Add drained tomatoes and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat, stirring often, 10 minutes. Add zucchini and cook 10 more minutes or until vegetables are tender. If stew is too thick, add 1 tablespoon reserved tomato juice. Add tofu to stew, spoon a little of sauce over tofu cubes, and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and thyme. Cover and heat gently, without stirring, about 3 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Stir in sage. Taste for seasoning. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley. Makes 4 servings. MUSHROOM TOFU CHILI To flavor and deepen the color of this meatless version of the American classic, I add plenty of sautéed onions and sliced mushrooms as well as a touch of soy sauce. Because this chili is made of vegetables, it cooks faster than meat-based chili. I serve it with pita, or over rice or spaghetti. It makes a hearty main course, perfect for winter. 2 to 3 Tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil 2 large onions, chopped 225 to 350 gr. mushrooms, sliced 6 large garlic cloves, chopped 2 tsp. chili powder 1 Tbsp. ground cumin 11⁄2 tsp. dried oregano 1⁄2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes or to taste two 800-gr. cans diced tomatoes, with their juice 2 Tbsp. tomato paste two 400- or 450-gr. cans beans, drained 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 350 to 450 gr. medium or firm tofu, drained and cut in cubes 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro (optional) Heat oil in a wide stew pan. Add onions and sauté over medium heat, stirring often, 5 minutes; add 1 or 2 tablespoons hot water from time to time if pan becomes dry. Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté, stirring often, 2 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano and pepper flakes and stir over low heat for 1⁄2 minute. Add tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir and bring to a boil. Add beans and soy sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add tofu and stir gently. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes or until chili is thick. Add cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot. Makes 4 to 6 servings. Faye Levy is the author of Feast from the Mideast and Healthy Cooking for the Jewish Home.