Soy beans are amazing! You can boil and blend them to make soy milk, ferment them to make tempeh, or curdle them to make tofu. Those are the common, popular types of soy products but have you heard of roasting them to make soy bean powder, or kinako? They’re usually available in Asian grocery stores but don’t worry about making the trip as they’re very simple to make.
To make kinako, roast the soy beans until fragrant and toasty. Then grind them in a blender or spice grinder.
The taste is very similar to sweet peanuts and can be sprinkled on anything! Liberally add them to fruit salads, mochi, avocados, or on french toast – which is my favorite. My kinako french toast recipe will be coming soon so stay tuned. The combination of kinako and maple syrup will be worth the wait!!
quick notes
- Kinako looks very similar to the Korean grain powder, misugaru (미숫가루), but they are a bit different. Misugaru consists of ~10 different types of roasted and finely milled grains, such as glutinous rice, barley, barely, etc. Both are high in protein and vitamin B.
- When adding kinako to mochi or to my Korean rice cakes recipe, it is common to mix kinako with a pinch of sugar. I recommend using 1/4 cup of kinako to 1 tbsp of sugar or omitting the sugar altogether.
- When looking for kinako at your local asian grocery store, make sure to purchase roasted soy bean powder and not regular soy bean powder. It should say 볶은 콩 가루, which translate to roasted(볶은) bean(콩) powder(가루). Alternatively, you can purchase it on amazon.
ROASTED SOY BEAN POWDER (KINAKO)
Ingredients
- ½ cup soy beans
Wash soy beans thoroughly and discard any broken or discolored soy beans. Dry them with a dish cloth and add to a pan or skillet.
Over medium low heat, roast the soy beans frequently shaking the pan every minute to prevent the beans from burning.
Continue to roast the beans until the sides are toasted and smell fragrant. The beans will pop as their skins slightly crack. If the beans are getting toasted without the shells cracking, turn down the heat and continue to shake the pan.
Once cooled, blend until fine in a blender, coffee grinder or spice grinder.
Lastly, sift powder through a sifter or strainer.
p.s. If you like this recipe, click the icons below to share and leave a comment below! Make sure to tag me @girlmeetsradish & #girlmeetsradish so I can see what you are making!
