The Soya Story
Bean Cuisine - Ingredients
Versatility of soya beans doesn’t stop there; they are the basis of several amazing foods, namely tofu (soya bean curd), tempeh, soya milk, miso and soya sauce. Fresh soya beans (sold as edamame) are a more recent addition to supermarket and health shop freezer cabinets.
Soya beans
They are a creamy, pale beige colour. Dried beans are sold in packets or loose. Also sold ready-cooked in cartons (Sainsbury’s own brand, organic) or in tins (Biona, organic).
Edamame – fresh soya beans
These are bright green and delicious! Find them in the freezer cabinet and eat them lightly steamed or raw in salads, stir-fried and so on. Alternatively, just serve them hot with a dash of salt and fresh lime juice for a clean tasting and delicious side dish.
As with all soya products, go for organic or non-GM if you can. The Realeat brand is very good.
Tofu
Also known as bean curd. Soya milk is coagulated – set – into tofu, using a process not unlike the way dairy milk is made into cheese.
Tofu comes in several varieties.
The plain variety (silken or firm) is relatively bland but lends itself to all sorts of flavourings quite beautifully! And of course, the ready-to-eat and cook flavoured varieties do all the work for you.
Left-over tofu can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Silken tofu needs no extra water and neither do the dense textured flavoured varieties like marinated pieces or Taifun flavoured. However, plain and wet’ smoked tofu should be stored in the fridge in fresh water which is changed every day.
Silken tofu
It is usually sold in tetra packs (long life) and can be found in most large supermarkets, oriental grocers and health food shops. It is soft and blancmange-like in texture and is best used in desserts, savoury flans or other dishes where a creamy consistency is needed.
Left-over silken tofu is great whizzed up with banana for an instant nutritional fix. Try adding a little vanilla extract and healthy
sweetener (like date syrup). Peanut butter and banana are a great combination too!
Firm tofu
This is sold in chill cabinets in many supermarkets and some health food shops. It will be either plain or flavoured. Plain tofu comes in slabs which are sealed in water-filled plastic bags (except for the loose tofu sold in oriental groceries). See notes above about storage.
Plain tofu can be stir-fried, scrambled, baked and deep fried or made into burgers. It’s also very good marinated in soya sauce, crushed garlic and grated ginger, drained then fried.
Tofu is excellent in oriental and other world dishes (Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean, Indonesian and Vietnamese) but vegan cuisine has invented other specialities during the past few decades (scrambled tofu, for example, is an excellent replacement for scrambled eggs).
Flavoured tofu
Also sold in chill cabinets is firm and comes in the following varieties:
- Marinated tofu pieces are deep fried and delicious. They can be eaten raw in a salad or tossed into hot dishes (like stir-fries or pasta sauce) just before serving.
- Smoked tofu can be eaten raw or stir-fried to make it crispier. It is great added to pasta or rice dishes and also nice in salads, thinly sliced or diced. Try it with avocado slices and home-made vinaigrette. Smoked tofu can be bought in its natural smoked state or else flavored with sesame seeds or with almonds and sesame seeds together.
- Tofu Rosso is a red-coloured very firm tofu, flavored with sun-dried tomatoes and herbs. It is delicious cold in salads, thinly sliced in a sandwich or cubed and added to a hot pasta or rice dish just before serving.
- Tofu Basil is green and it’s flavored with basil! Use like Tofu Rosso.
Tempeh
Tempeh is a firm cake made from pressed, fermented soya beans (created with a naturally-occurring, healthy mould. It has a chewy texture and quite strong taste, which makes it very good in pies and stews, especially with a dash of ale, cider or red wine added. In the UK, it is manufactured by Impulse Foods and usually sold in frozen blocks. Impulse also make other varieties of tempeh, including smoky rashers and a chilled fresh variety. You will find their range in good health food shops.
www.impulsefoods.co.uk
Miso
Miso is a delicious paste used as a stock in soups, stews and sauces. It is made from fermenting soya beans together with grains such as barley or rice. It comes in different flavours, ranging from ‘sweet’ (a pale creamy yellow colour) to a red-brown miso right through to an almost black colour with a ‘meaty’ tasting flavour. Whichever miso you use, make sure you don’t overdo it. The darker varieties in particular are quite salty, so try it Little at a time. Mix it into a paste with some cold water before adding to hot food, that way you won’t destroy the healthy enzymes. Most miso sold in the UK is made by Clearspring or
Sanchi. Some miso is sold in clear plastic packs with a screw top and some comes in a jar – just store them in the fridge. Other
brands come in a simple plastic package – in that case, transfer the miso to a clean air-tight container like a jar and store in the fridge. The darker varieties keep longer because their higher salt content acts as a preservative.
www.clearspring.co.uk/japanese/miso/clears
pring_japanese_miso
www.sanchi.co.uk
Soya Sauce
Pure soya sauce is the business! Shoyu is made from fermented soya beans and wheat, while tamari is made purely from fermented soya beans (it has no wheat so is suitable for a gluten-free diet). Both types are fermented for about a year whereas most commercial soya sauces are not fermented sufficiently and contain added ingredients such as caramel and corn syrup and therefore don’t taste nearly as good! Go for the best quality you can afford. Good brands include Clearspring, Essential, Suma, Kikkoman and Sanchi. Again, watch your salt intake and if you can find one, use a low-salt version.
www.clearspring.co.uk/japanese/seasonings/japanese_seasonings
www.sanchi.co.uk
Soya dairy alternatives
Alternative soya ‘dairy’ products such as soya yoghurt, soya custard, soya cheeses, soya cream and soya ice-cream are also widely available.
Soya Milk
Soya Milk is usually made from soaked, ground soya beans (sometimes from soya flour). It comes in all sorts of varieties, including sweetened and unsweetened, organic and nonorganic, fortified with vitamins and minerals and plain. Good quality brands include Provamel, Alpro and Plamil, although most of the supermarket own-brands are also very good. Here at VVF we favour the Provamel unsweetened and fortified with calcium and B12*, but it all depends on your tastebuds and budget! Chocolate, banana and strawberry soya milks are also available and are delicious.
*It is possible to buy organic calcium-fortified soya milk but
not organic fortified with calcium and vitamin B12, because
of strict organic regulations. However, Alpro and Provamel
non-organic varieties are made from ethically sourced beans
and are of a high quality. All major supermarkets sell their
own-brand organic and non-organic soya milks.
Whatever type you buy, ensure that the beans
are not genetically modified (GM). Most
reputable soya milk manufacturers in Europe
avoid GM beans and source their beans
ethically, including Alpro and Provamel.
Yoghurt
- Alpro yoghurt alternatives are made with
soya bean goodness and are naturally low in saturated fat. They contain absolutely no artificial sweeteners, colours or preservatives and taste great on their own, with fresh fruit or cereal as part of a healthy breakfast. www.alprosoya.co.uk
- Provamel’s thick, creamy alternatives to yoghurt (yofu) are perfect for people who favour organic produce, follow vegetarian or vegan diets, have lactose intolerance or cow’s milk protein allergy or simply for those who desire a healthy, varied yet enjoyable diet.
www.provamel.com
- Sojasun produce a broad range of desserts with delicate and original flavours to combine pleasure and well-being.
http://en.sojasun.com
- Sojade produce a range of delicious fruit flavoured yoghurts.
www.sojade.fr (A French company with no
English section on its website.)
Soya Cream:
- Alpro and Provamel both produce singlecream (see above for links).
- Granovita (Cremovita) vegan friendly soya whipping cream.
www.granovita.co.uk
- Soyatoo! available as whipping cream in a carton for pouring when you want a rich cream or whipping to a thick consistency. Also available as squirty spray cream in a can for the convenience of thick cream without the whipping.
www.soyatoo.de/us
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The Soya Story - Contents
Resources:
The Soya Story
Read the online version of our guide to soya
Download the pdf
Buy the guide
 The Safety of Soya
Read our fully-referenced soya fact sheet
Download the pdf
Buy the factsheet
 Soya-Based Infant Formula
A safe alternative to cow's milk formula
Download the pdf
 The Soya Saga
Should we be running scared or welcoming this little bean into our hearts and stew pots?
Read this article on soya from VeggieHealth issue 4
Myth-Busting
The VVF examines the soya scare-mongering stories and investigates what, if any, scientific basis there is behind them
Soya and the Environment
Soya farming is devastating the Amazon, but where does all the soya go? It's not for human consumption…
FAQs
What worries you most? Read some of our most frequently asked nutritional enquiries
Soya research
Read the scientific evidence for yourself…
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