Amusons-nous un peu avec le soja – galettes de soja-curry et légumes avec salsa piquante

soycurrygalette2web

soycurrygalette3web

Soy beans are like any other beans, when dried, they need to soak in water overnight. Then they can be prepared they way you like, in salads, as a side dish, in soups or substitute to the other beans. They’re small and round with a nice yellow color when dry. When cooked, they expand and the color gets bright yellow and go back to their original shape and texture of edamame (dried soy beans are edamame). Cooking time for soy beans is longer than regular beans, even when cooked they do not get as starchy as other beans and that’s what makes them somehow sexy.

I like to use them in patties like those enhanced with curry or mixed with other beans or rice. I never made my own tofu but one day I will try. I would love to see the soy milk coagulate and turn solid. 

The funny thing is that people who don’t eat or like tofu do love those, I think many people have a “mental blockage” with tofu and are reluctant to try it because of its “healthy” connotation and does not look like anything we are used to (especially in Europe) but recently I have noticed that tofu and soy beans are in all the shelves of any “magasin bio” which is a new and great chain of organic supermarkets in France and and the French call it Tofou. 

Ingredients

For the soy patties

  • 1/2 lb dried beans
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 carrot, shredded
  • 1 zucchini, shredded
  • 1 tbs soy sauce
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp black sesame seeds
  • 1 tbs mint
  • 1 tbs coriander
  • 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
  • salt and pepper

For the salsa

  • 3 ripe tomatoes, seedless and diced
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1 tbs avocado oil
  • a few drops of chili oil
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 tbs cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tbs scallion, chopped
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

For the patties

Soak dried soy beans overnight. Cook them in a large pot covering them with a lot of water, and cook for about 3 hours or until they become soft.

When cooked, drain and mash them with a potato masher.

In a pan, heat up some olive oil, add shallot, cook until it’s brown. Add curry powder, and stir for a while, add soy sauce. Stir well. Add carrots and zucchini, mix well and cook for a few minutes.

Toast sesame seeds in a pan and add to the vegetables. 

Add the mixture to the mashed soy beans and mix well, it needs to turn into a smooth and nice texture. Add mint and mix. 

Form small patties. Dip in breadcrumbs and cook in a pan with olive oil until patties are golden brown.

For the salsa

Mix avocado and tomatoes, add avocado oil, chili oil, garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, scallions, salt and pepper. Mix well and serve with patties.