Roast Your Own Soy Nuts

[tprouty]

I have a hard time finding soy nuts -- they aren't available at all in my small town, dry roasted or otherwise. And when I do find them in the city, they're on the expensive side, and usually with oil, not dry roasted. I have a container of soy beans at home, so I decided to try making my own dry roasted soy nuts. It was easy, and they're crunchy without being hard, and I can season them any way I want to.

Oven Roasted Soy Nuts

2 c dry soybeans

Rinse soybeans in cool water and place in a bowl large enough to allow beans to double in size. Cover the beans with water; the water level should be a few inches above the beans so they can expand. Allow the beans to soak at least 8 hours.

(I soaked just over 24 hours, so beans would barely start to ferment, which makes the nutrients more available. If you allow your beans to soak longer than 24 hours, you'll see a small amount of foam collect on the surface of the water. These are harmless gas bubbles, primarily carbon dioxide, that result from the breakdown of the bean's sugar during fermentation.)

Preheat the oven to 330°F.

Rinse the beans and drain. Spread the soaked beans in one thin layer on a baking sheet. Roast 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring a couple of times, until well browned and toasted. Remove from oven and let cool. A long, slow roast produces the crispiest soy nut.

The beans will give up moisture and steam/cook for the first 20 minutes. Browning occurs rapidly after the beans are relatively dry. Stirring prevents the beans on the edges from burning.

Finally, don't salt the soybeans during the initial roasting. The wet bean will absorb the salt. The salt inside the bean will draw and hold water, preventing the bean from drying effectively, and you'll have soggy, hard soybeans, not crunchy soy nuts.

While the beans are cooling (or the next day, or whenever you have time), reduce the oven temperature to 200°F. Return the beans to the tepid oven and forget about them for several hours while they dry.

While they are hot and dry during this second time in the oven, you can add flavors if you want to. Mix a couple tablespoons of water with some sea salt and/or seasonings of choice (I like cinnamon if I'm going to mix the nuts with raisins. Or if eating the nuts by themselves, I can use chili and lime, garlic powder, wasabi, or any other flavor that grabs your attention). Mix thoroughly through the hot soy nuts, and return to the oven until they are thoroughly dried again. This keeps the salt on the surface of the bean so it won't suck moisture in so much.

Store in an airtight container.

[MsHeirloom]

I just found dried garbanzo beans.  I wonder if they could be roasted the same way.  I've roasted them from the canned state and loved them, but soaking rather than cooking them sounds like an easy way to do them.  If nobody replies, maybe I'll test out the concept.  Pam

[tprouty]

I think I did something similar with garbanzos years and years ago, Pam. Soybeans are a lot smaller than garbanzos, so I might give them a head start by boiling them for a bit before roasting. But I think it would work -- if you try it, let us know how it turns out! I still have a BIG container of soybeans to use up!

RT, I've been envying your soy nuts snack that you talk about, and several others here mix soy nuts and raisins. My hubby loves his trail mix, so I had to come up with something so I wouldn't be tempted to dip into his snacks!    These were deliciously simple to make, and I'm looking forward to experimenting with all my favorite seasonings.

God bless!
Terri

[MsHeirloom]

Terri- I think it would work well.  I soaked them (chickpeas) overnight and they swelled to at least twice their size.  I baked them 40 minutes at 400 degrees, then turned off the oven and left them in the oven for another 45 minutes.  I had two cookie sheets full and had to rotate them after 20 and 40 minutes.  Next time I will leave them in for three 20 minute cycles, then leave them in the turned off oven.  Part of mine are perfect and some were still not crispy enough.  Pam

[MsHeirloom]

Update- The garbanzo bean nuts were 24 hours old and sealed airtight.  They were all less than crispy, so I microwaved them (I know, I know....) for 90 seconds and when they cooled they were perfect.  I only tried it on 1 cup.  I had seasoned them with cinnamon and stevia and mixed them with raisins.  Yummy!  Pam