Small Chops

Awara / Beske (Fried Soybean Curd)

Name: Awara / Beske (Fried Soybean Curd)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 615 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 300 g dried soybeans; 2000 ml water (For extracting the milk.); 1500 ml additional water (For soaking; discarded.); 60 ml strained lemon juice (Plus up to 30 ml more if needed for coagulation; natural acidity varies.); 100 ml water (For diluting the lemon juice.); 0.75 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp ground dried chilli; 500 ml neutral frying oil (Amount depends on pan; not all is absorbed.)

Homemade soybean curd, pressed firm, seasoned and fried into golden pieces. Nigerian cooks document soybean curd both in the north and the southwest. Omolabake of Ounje Aladun recalls buying fried beske around Bodija in Ibadan, and The Pretend Chef describes its northern and western use. Those accounts show a food embedded in more than one community. Frying gives these pieces their familiar savoury snack form. Cultural context: Awara is associated with northern Nigerian foodways, while Yoruba cooks document beske or wara soya. Names overlap locally; this is soybean curd, distinct from milk-based wara.

Fried awara soybean-curd pieces with vegetable sides

Awara_(Soybeans_Cake).jpg by YusufuAM, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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None by this package; original downloaded file bytes preserved. Source-file adaptations, if any, are credited separately.

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35 minPreparation

40 minCooking

6Servings

Allow 540 additional minutes for resting / soaking. Total: 615 minutes.

What you’ll need

6 servings

300 g dried soybeans
2000 ml waterFor extracting the milk.
1500 ml additional waterFor soaking; discarded.
60 ml strained lemon juicePlus up to 30 ml more if needed for coagulation; natural acidity varies.
100 ml waterFor diluting the lemon juice.
0.75 tsp salt
0.5 tsp ground dried chilli
500 ml neutral frying oilAmount depends on pan; not all is absorbed.

Let’s get cooking

1
Sort and rinse the soybeans. Cover with the soaking water and refrigerate for 8 hours. Drain and rinse; rub off loose skins if desired.
2
Blend the beans in batches with the 2 litres of extraction water. Strain through clean muslin into a large pot, squeezing firmly. Reserve only the milk for this recipe.
3
Bring the raw soy milk to a full boil, stirring and watching closely for foam. Reduce to an active gentle boil and cook for 20 minutes, scraping the base so it does not scorch.
4
Remove from the heat and let the milk fall to about 80°C. Dilute 60 ml lemon juice with the 100 ml water; gently distribute it through the milk. Cover and leave undisturbed for 10–15 minutes. If the liquid remains milky, add the extra lemon juice in 10 ml portions and wait again.
5
When curds have separated from the clearer whey, ladle them into a muslin-lined sieve. Fold in salt and chilli, cover with the cloth and press under a clean moderate weight for about 45 minutes, until sliceable.
6
Cut into roughly 3 cm pieces and pat the surfaces dry. Heat a 2–3 cm depth of oil to about 175°C in a stable pan, keeping it below half full. Fry in batches for 5–7 minutes, turning, until golden and hot through. Drain and serve.

A little kitchen wisdom

Use culinary lemon juice, not industrial coagulants. The curd yield and acid needed vary with the beans and extraction. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and use within 2 days. This recipe does not substitute soybean curd for dairy wara without explaining the difference. Timing: active preparation 35 min; cooking 40 min; additional passive time 540 min; conservative planning allowance 615 min. Some stages may overlap. For Recipe.ng display, prep_minutes includes the additional passive time; it is not all hands-on work. Recipe status: Research draft; not kitchen-tested. Allergens and checks: Soy.

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Beske, Wara soya

Awara is associated with northern Nigerian foodways, while Yoruba cooks document beske or wara soya. Names overlap locally; this is soybean curd, distinct from milk-based wara.

Allergens: Soy.

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Awara / Beske (Fried Soybean Curd)

35 minPreparation

40 minCooking

6Servings

Allow 540 additional minutes for resting / soaking. Total: 615 minutes.

What you’ll need

6 servings

300 g dried soybeans

2000 ml waterFor extracting the milk.

1500 ml additional waterFor soaking; discarded.

60 ml strained lemon juicePlus up to 30 ml more if needed for coagulation; natural acidity varies.

100 ml waterFor diluting the lemon juice.

0.75 tsp salt

0.5 tsp ground dried chilli

500 ml neutral frying oilAmount depends on pan; not all is absorbed.

Let’s get cooking

Sort and rinse the soybeans. Cover with the soaking water and refrigerate for 8 hours. Drain and rinse; rub off loose skins if desired.

Blend the beans in batches with the 2 litres of extraction water. Strain through clean muslin into a large pot, squeezing firmly. Reserve only the milk for this recipe.

Bring the raw soy milk to a full boil, stirring and watching closely for foam. Reduce to an active gentle boil and cook for 20 minutes, scraping the base so it does not scorch.

Remove from the heat and let the milk fall to about 80°C. Dilute 60 ml lemon juice with the 100 ml water; gently distribute it through the milk. Cover and leave undisturbed for 10–15 minutes. If the liquid remains milky, add the extra lemon juice in 10 ml portions and wait again.

When curds have separated from the clearer whey, ladle them into a muslin-lined sieve. Fold in salt and chilli, cover with the cloth and press under a clean moderate weight for about 45 minutes, until sliceable.

Cut into roughly 3 cm pieces and pat the surfaces dry. Heat a 2–3 cm depth of oil to about 175°C in a stable pan, keeping it below half full. Fry in batches for 5–7 minutes, turning, until golden and hot through. Drain and serve.