Wednesday, August 18, 2010

More Homemade Tofu


I can't stop making tofu! I just love the "art" of it, and of course the flavors of my own homemade tofu. It's really, really special.

From real tofu fans who have ordered Homemade Tofu Kit from us, I received several inquires about where to get the quality soybeans to make the best tofu. The kind I recommend is from Signature Soy. Their soybeans are organic and non GMO. The flavor is mildly nutty and very nice.

Once again, here's the process of tofu making at home.


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10 oz soybeans (rinsed and soaked in 1,200 ml water overnight) were pureed with the soaking water in VitaMix until smooth.


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Wooden tofu box and lid are soaked in cold water. Cotton bag is wet and wrung before use. Pureed soybeans are added to 1,300 ml boiling water. Any remaining puree in the VitaMix is rinsed with additional 200 ml water and drained to the boiling water, too.


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After heating the mixture for 5-8 minutes (when the mixture smells like soymilk, rather than raw soybeans), the mixture is strained through the cotton bag and strainer into a large bowl. The remaining solid is "okara" (soy pulp), which is still filled with protein and vitamins, so I save it for cooking!


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The strained liquid is the pure soymilk. It's transferred to a classic all-purpose donabe over medium+ heat. Once the soymilk is almost boiling, turn off the heat, and nigari solution (2.5 teaspoons of nigari liquid and 3 tablespoons hot water) is stirred in. Donabe is covered, and let rest for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, the soymilk is now curdled. To me, using donabe in this process is essential, because donabe distribute the heat gently, and also have the great heat retention after turning off the heat. So, the soymilk gets curdled evenly.


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The curd is gently transferred to the wooden box with a perforated ladle. After transferring most of the curd, the remaining in the donabe is just the clear separated water.


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With the weight, the soymilk curd is shaped into tofu. In 15 minutes, tofu is ready!


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It's quite huge. I keep the fresh tofu in the cold water bath to keep the texture and freshness.

Homemade tofu is the best.