Soybeans. Lit. "big bean." The bean of beans in Japan.
Rich source of protein, vitamin and minerals. Contains the same amount of protein by weight as meat, but without the fat. Called "the meat of the earth" (daichi no niku). Soybeans were grown in China 4,000 years ago and crossed to Japan about 2,500 years ago.
Soybeans find many uses in Japanese cuisine. In the first place as a raw material for such diverse products as miso, soy sauce, tofu, yuba, soy milk, natto and so on.
Soybeans themselves are used in various dishes, for example by simmering them with kelp and shiitake mushrooms (daizu no nimono), or by stir-frying them with black hijiki seaweed in oil (hijiki-mame). Soybeans are also used in salads and can be prepared as tempura for a delicious beer snack.
A variant is the beautiful, shiny black soybean (kuromame), which is a regular item at o-sechi-ryori (special dishes eaten at New Year). Black soybeans contain B vitamins, iron and calcium. The beans are handled gently to keep them whole. They are usually cooked in a sweet syrup with konbu and then eaten cold. They are readily available in the supermarket. Black soybeans are also used to make tea, bean coffee, jam and tofu, to name a few of its many uses.
Rich source of protein, vitamin and minerals. Contains the same amount of protein by weight as meat, but without the fat. Called "the meat of the earth" (daichi no niku). Soybeans were grown in China 4,000 years ago and crossed to Japan about 2,500 years ago.
Soybeans find many uses in Japanese cuisine. In the first place as a raw material for such diverse products as miso, soy sauce, tofu, yuba, soy milk, natto and so on.
Soybeans themselves are used in various dishes, for example by simmering them with kelp and shiitake mushrooms (daizu no nimono), or by stir-frying them with black hijiki seaweed in oil (hijiki-mame). Soybeans are also used in salads and can be prepared as tempura for a delicious beer snack.
A variant is the beautiful, shiny black soybean (kuromame), which is a regular item at o-sechi-ryori (special dishes eaten at New Year). Black soybeans contain B vitamins, iron and calcium. The beans are handled gently to keep them whole. They are usually cooked in a sweet syrup with konbu and then eaten cold. They are readily available in the supermarket. Black soybeans are also used to make tea, bean coffee, jam and tofu, to name a few of its many uses.
[Soy beans]
Dishes:
- Daizu no nimono, soy beans simmered with konbu and shiitake
- Hijiki-mame, soybeans with hijiki sauteed in oil with soy and sugar
- Eda-mame, fresh green soy beans eaten out of the pod.
- Moyashi or soy bean sprouts are used in various grilled foods.
- Soy beans can also be used in salads.
- They can be used in tempura, resulting in a beer snack.
Photo soy beans: via Wikimedia Commons