Okara, sauteed with vegetables is one of the staple Japanese side dishes. It is also called Unohana. This recipe is the ultimate Japanese nutritious vegan dish! Tofu byproduct soy pulp is sauteed with vegetables in umami-packed shiitake mushroom stock. Don’t worry, I will explain all that Japanese vocab in this post.
What are Okara and Unohana?
The main ingredient of this Japanese side dish which is known as Unohana is okara. It is a type of soy fibre. Okara is the insoluble pulp that remains during the production of tofu and soy milk. Finally, you end up with Okara after filtering. It is a common ingredient in Japanese cooking because of its nutrient content. Many people even use it to make sweets like cookies.
Where do I get Okara?
I get fresh Okara from local Japanese grocery stores. Okara used to be available for free from a tofu factory in Brisbane. They were throwing it away so Japanese people would go and collect it for free. Now the factory knows that Japanese people cook and eat okara soy pulp. So now, of course, they are selling the soy product.
How to prepare dried shiitake mushrooms?
Three main components of Umami are Glutamic acid, inosinic acid and guanylic acid. Dried Shiitake mushrooms are a source of abundant guanylic acid. Dried shiitake mushrooms contain ten times more guanylic acid than raw mushrooms. Ideally, we need to start to prepare dried shiitake mushrooms a night before. Because it takes about 8-10 hours to extract the umami flavour soaked in cold water in the refrigerator. If you are interested, read more about Dashi in a previous post.
How to prepare Konnyaku?
Konnyaku may be another unusual ingredient though, it is a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine. Konnyaku is the Japanese name for Konjac. Made from the edible konjac corn, so it is quite different. You can get it from Japanese or Asian grocery stores. It has a fishy smell because of calcium hydroxide aqueous solution added as a coagulant in the konjac manufacturing process. I have explained how to cook Konnyaku in my Konnyaku steak post.
Depa-Chika (department store’s underground floor) foods
Have you been to Japan before? Visiting a department store’s underground floor is my favourite thing to do when I go back to Japan. Depa-Chika is the name for these underground stores. At Depa-Chika, you can buy ready-made dishes and almost anything you want. Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. However you can get Chinese, Italian, French, and the list goes on. Okara or Unohana is one of the staple dishes you will definitely find at Depa-Chika.
How long does sauteed okara store in the Fridge and Freezer?
Dishes like these store in the fridge and they are ready to eat anytime. It is a kind of Japanese meal prep. They don’t individually package for one meal but make a dish like this in bulk. Stored and ready to eat anytime. Unohana sautéed okara will keep in the fridge for a few days and store in the freezer for a month.
My Food photography journey
Unohana sauteed Okara was the dish I practised my food photography on. Nagi the author of the Food Photography Book was my mentor. The book is the only food photography book I have and it became my food photography bible. The photo I took with Nagi’s help is still one of my favourite food photos. Here is a comparison. What do you think? Please comment below, I appreciate your honest and constructive feedback 😀
Photo comparison
If you liked my recipe for Unohana sauteed Okara, please rate it and leave a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram. This way you can keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I can see your wonderful creations!
Okara sauteed with Vegetables - Unohana
Ingredients
- 150 g fresh okara
- 1/2 a medium onion
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms or 15g
- 1/2 a small carrot
- 100 g konyaku
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 200 ml of the water used to soak the dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 Green shallots
Instructions
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms with 200 ml of water in a fridge for 8-10 hours. (Soak the mushrooms night before) *1
- Squeeze the liquid out of each mushroom, cut the stem of the mushroom and discard them.
- Finely slice the mushrooms, onion, carrot, konnyaku, and shallots.
- Combine sugar, soy sauce, and mirin with the water the mushrooms soaked overnight and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion until it's translucent.
- Add the other chopped vegetables (besides the shallots) and cook along with the onion.
- Add the okara and cook until it becomes crumbly.
- Pour the mixture of seasonings and mushroom soaked water into the frying pan.
- Keep stirring everything together over low heat until the liquid evaporates.
- Add the shallots and cook slightly then turn off the heat.
- Serve in a bowl as a side dish! or when it is cooled down keep them in airtight container in refrigerator or freezer.
After adding the 200 ml soaking liquid and soy sauce mixture my Okara was like soup. What did o not understand in this recipe??
Hi Pauline, sorry to hear something went wrong… maybe you had lesser amount of Okara? you could let the mixture evaporate:D
I din’t have access to konyaku. Can I replace it with sonething else? I really want to try your recipe, it looks winderful. I just discovered okara… I am in love!
Hi Danielle, you can make this without Konnyaku 😀
Hiya, Danielle
Look for “Miracle Noodles” AKA shirataki.
They are marketing it as a plant based noodle so do a search to see if your Walmart or grocery store has it in stock.
I think it is made using the same… ROOT?? konnyaku is made with.
²
I realize this is an old comment look for MIRACLE NOODLES / Shirataki noodles which I believe is made from
(or at least very similar to) Konnyaku.
You can find this in the refrigerated Asian food section of larger grocery shops.
I just googled “MIRACLE NOODLES near me” and got Vons. Albertson and Walmart as well as Target carrying a different brand of PASTA ZERO.
Thanks for the recipe! It works great with other veggies too. I have tried it with soy okara, I’m thinking about trying it with peanut fiber as well and seeing how that goes.
I don’t have access to fresh okara. How would I use okara powder?
Hi Alice, If you can access to Okara powder, you can use it for making cookies and bakings 😀 I don’t have recipes on Chopstick Chronicles yet, but I always liked healthy version Okara cookie and would like to share the recipe in the future.
Just tried this okara recipe and it is delicious! Love the addition of konnyaku as well. We’re looking for new ways to use up our okara and this is a new favorite. Thanks!
Hi Stephanie, you can freeze it. It will last about a month in freezer. Also you can make cookies. I don’t have recipe on Chopstick Chronicles, may be in the future 😀
This dish looks awesome! I need to get hold of okara!
Thank you Katherine 😀
Im always looking for new ways to use okara and this is a great side dish!
That’s great. Thank you Ashley 😀
Looks good. Love Chinese food
You’re on a Japanese recipe
Great use for Okra, thanks for sharing!
You are welcome Jennifer 😀 Thank you for 5 star rating!
I love that you take the time to explain the lingo 😉 I’d be lost without it! But I love okra and have been dying to find something else to do with it BESIDES gumbo! This is such an excellent alternative. Thanks for the recipe!
You are welcome Kelly 😀
This is a recipe on Okara, a soy fiber. NOT Okra!
I’ve never had vegetables like this, and now I can’t wait to try them! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
You are welcome Jessica 😀
looks delicious !
thank you very much!
These photos are gorgeous and make the food look so yummy! I’ve never had okara before, but now I’m so curious to try it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in the states, but I’m going to have to keep my eyes open for it.
Thank you very much Tracy! It doesn’t have much of a flavour on its own but tastes great when you use it to cook stuff like this! I hope you’ll be able to find it 🙂
Fab post! I am way more familliar with Chinese cuisine than I am with Japanese food and I’ve certainly never heard of Okara before. This sounds fantastic though 🙂 I will look out for it next time I visit the Oriental mart!
Thank you so much Emma! Okara is used a lot in Japanese cooking so if you do find it at the Oriental mart you’ll be able to cook and bake a lot with it 🙂
This is a great looking dish and nice job on these photos. Okra is such an unusual vegetable and much underrated I think. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Mark! This actually uses Okara, which is tofu fibre but I do love okra too! 🙂
This recipe looks so delicious! I will fun looking around your site at other recipes.
Thank you very much Christine, hope you have fun! 🙂