Sake kasu, the key ingredient in this recipe, offer a variety of health benefits:
- Skin Health: They are rich in B vitamins, which enhance skin metabolism.
- Constipation Relief: Their insoluble fiber helps expel excess waste from the intestines.
- Prevention of Lifestyle Diseases: Sake kasu contain ‘resistant protein,’ similar to dietary fiber, which can help lower cholesterol, reduce blood sugar levels, and improve diabetes.
Sprinkle it on a variety of dishes such as salads, gratins, and pasta before eating. You can also customize it by adding nuts. I personally love sprinkling the nut-enhanced cheese powder on my salads. Try adding your favorite nuts, such as macadamia nuts, almonds, or cashews.
Incidentally, vegan cheese powder often uses nutritional yeast flakes, commonly known as “nooch,” as a substitute, but it’s not very well-known in Japan. I’ve never bought it myself. The vegan cheese powder I make is packed with nutrients and has a flavor similar to real cheese. However, adding nooch to my vegan cheese powder might make it even more like authentic cheese powder. It’s definitely an ingredient I’d like to try in the future.
Vegan cheese powder made from rice
} TOTAL TIME: 20 minutes
This cheese powder uses commonly found ingredients in Japan: “sake kasu(sake lees)” and rice flour. sake kasu are a by-product of the sake brewing process, a nutrient-rich ingredient with the aroma of sake and yeast. Both sake and rice flour are derived from rice. Although the base ingredient is rice, this recipe allows you to create a delicious cheese-flavored powder.
INGREDIENTS
- 3.5 oz (100g) sake kasu
- 3.5 oz (100g) rice flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1.1 oz (30g) raw nuts (option)
INSTRUCTIONS
Step-01
Put the sake kasu, rice flour, salt, and olive oil into a food processor and blend until everything is uniformly mixed.
Step-02
Transfer to a skillet and sauté over low heat. Continue cooking until the moisture has evaporated and it becomes crumbly. Once dry, it’s ready. Be careful not to overcook it, as this can cause the salt to separate, resulting in a poor texture.
The shelf life is about one month in the refrigerator and about three months in the freezer.
Notes
Adding raw nuts is a delicious variation. After sautéing the cheese powder in a skillet, add nuts and blend everything again in a food processor. I prefer not to cook the nuts to prevent the oils from oxidizing, so I incorporate them raw.
Blend in a food processor for about 10 seconds.Be careful not to overmix, as this can cause the oils from the nuts to be released.