"Why More Soy?"
by Joyce Lee

Did you know that protein in soy has all eight essential amino acid? Some medical studies published by The New England Journal of Medicine show that soy protein has demonstrated the ability to stop cancer cells from dividing and spreading, and easing the symptoms of menopause. The study also found the participants with high cholesterol reduced their cholesterol by about 10 percent when they subsituted soy for animal protein. I don't think a mega-pharmaceutical company will be developing a drug with so many benefits any time soon. Soy is a truly an amazing natural food!

There are many soy products available in the market now which make it easy for us to add some soy protein to our diets. Here are some common soy foods:

Tofu: A spongy soy product. There are two basic categories of Tofu: firm and soft (silken). The firm tofu is generally used in cooking since it absorbs flavor well and doesn't crumble as the soft one does. It is also used as a meat substitute in many vegetarian dishes. Soft tofu are usually eaten raw in salad, or used in soup, or even desserts.

Miso: Soybean paste - essential to Japanese diet. It may be thinned and used as a dressing for salads. It is a pickling medium when it is left in its thick state. It is also great as a spread for grilled foods. There are basically three kinds of miso: light, red and dark. Instant miso soup packs are widely available also.

Tempeh: Made from fermented soybeans. Popular in Indonesian cuisine. It is often made into a spread or pressed into a cake and then marinated, grilled or baked.

Soy Milk: Made from pureed soybeans in water. It comes in variety of flavors.

There are a lot more varieties of soy foods than the few describes above. When you browse through the tofu section in a Chinese market, you will be amazed how versatile soy food is. Or if you start counting how many miso flavored products there are in Japanese markets, you will become dizzy. Now that you know the benefit of this little bean called SOY, you should think about adding more soy protein to your diet.

I love tofu, and here are some things I grew up eating...and still do

Shanghainese Tofu Salad:
serves 2

Ingredients:

12 oz soft tofu (about one block), cut in large pieces, about 2 inch cubes, actually the size doesn't matter much, just for presentation
2 sprigs of green onion, finely chopped
2 Chinese thousand-years-old eggs (usually small in size, use 1 if it is large), chopped into small pieces.

Dressing:

2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame seed oil
pinch of sugar

Procedure:

1. Combine all ingredients together. Be creative, arrange in whatever way you want.

2. Pour dressing over it and eat!

Japanese Tofu Salad:
serves 1

The Japanese get quite fancy in their tofu styles. If you can get the hand-made summer tofu in a Japanese market, please use it. Superbly silky!

Ingredients:

6 oz silky tofu (about half a block)
1 tbsp Japanese Bonito Flakes
1 sprig of green onion, finely chopped
2 tsp soy sauce

Procedure:

1. Simply place tofu on the plate, sprinkle Bonito flakes and green onion on top.

2. Pour soy sauce over tofu and enjoy.

Grilled Black Cod with Light Miso:

Ingredients:

2 pieces of black cod, about 4 - 5 oz each
2 tbsp. light miso paste
2 tsp Mirin (Japanese sweet seasoning)
1 tsp sake

Procedure:

1. Mix mirin, sake and miso paste together. Stir until it is smooth in a form of runny paste.

2. Marinade black cod with the miso mixture for at least 2 hours.