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Panko
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by Lisa Vines
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According to www.epicurious.com:
panko [PAHN-koh] Bread crumbs used in Japanese cooking for coating
fried foods. They're coarser than those normally used in the United
States and create a deliciously crunchy crust. Panko is sold in Asian
markets.
Panko is also sold at the Co-op, in the Bulk area. Shoppers will find
it among the various mixes to the right of the oatmeal. It is uniformly
creamy white in color, with visible crumbs. Panko contains wheat flour
and 2% or less of sugar, yeast, soybean oil and salt. Like traditional
breadcrumbs, panko can be used as a coating for fried and baked foods
and as a binding ingredient. It differs from traditional breadcrumbs in
several ways, however.
First, its courseness is flake-like in nature; the flakes absorb less
grease and do not compress as much as other breadcrumbs, thereby
remaining light and crunchy as an exterior shell. It provides an
extra-crunchy topping for eggplant parmesan, macaroni-and- cheese, and
baked tofu.
Second, the large surface area absorbs more seasonings and moisture.
Substituting panko for traditional breadcrumbs in a homemade veggie
burger, for example, absorbs excess moisture without making the burgers
taste bread-like.
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Sources
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Sarah
Wilson (2005). "Veggie Burgers Worth the Trouble." Cooks Illustrated
(July/August).
Michele Foley, "How Is Panko Different from Breadcrumbs?" at www.chow.com/stories/11223.
www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry/?id=3791,
citing Sharon Tyler Herbst's The Food Lover's Companion, 2nd ed.
(Barron Educational Services,1995). www.wisegeek.com/what-is-panko.htm.
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Baked
Tofu
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Ingredients
available in Bulk:
2 cubes of tofu, cut into slices and patted dry
½ cup flour
1 cup panko, mixed with
½ cup chicken-flavored seasoning mix
Not in Bulk:
1 egg, beaten with 2 TBS water
Heat oven to 400°. Dust tofu slices with the plain flour, and then
dip them into the egg mixture. Coat with the combined panko and
chicken-flavored seasoning mix. Place on a lightly oiled baking pan and
bake for 15 minutes. Turn and bake another 10–15 minutes.
Nutrition information: 1 cup of panko has 280 calories. If it is whole
wheat, it contains 8 grams of fiber.
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