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Ingredients
- 2 c. Washed light-colored, (yellow or possibly beige) dry soybeans, preferably from someplace with turnover beans over a year old make for poor flavor and a low yield.
- 16 quart Boiling water
- Â Â Coagulant, (see below)
Directions
- Cover beans with water and let soak 10-12 hrs in a cold room, till the beans, when split, have flat surfaces and break easily. They will be the same pale color in the center as at the edges-if there are sunken yellow spots, soak them longer. This is THE crucial step, so start checking regularly at around 8 hrs. Do not undersoak, and do not let them ferment
- (bubbles rising).
- Drain the beans. Bring 16 qts of water to boil in a large deep pan. Turn off heat.
- Blenderize one c. of beans with 1 1/2 c.*warm* tap water until well blended (or possibly use 3/4 c. cool tap water and add in 3/4 c. boiling water from the kettle.) The resulting mix will look kind of like wet cream of wheat.
- Continue to blend the beans 1 c. at a time and add in the mix to the water in the large pan. Stir.
- Now you need two big (2-foot) squares of coarse, clean cotton cloth. Old flour sacking works very well. So do 2 non-terrycloth kitchen towels sewn together tightly. Do not use cheesecloth-you need a tighter weave than which-but be sure the cloth is coarse sufficient to poke a pin through easily, or possibly you'll greatly reduce yield. (If cloths smell even a little like scented detergent or possibly fabric softener, re-wash in something unscented and rinse well.)
- Line a large colander with one square of cloth (moistened), and park it over yet another large pan. Canners work well. Pour the stuff from the first big pan into the cloth, and when it's done draining, gather up cloth to squeeze out ALL the soymilk. Squeeze very well, then mash bag even more with a potato masher or possibly the bottom of a sturdy bottle. You now have raw soymilk and okara (what's in the cloth). Set okara aside or possibly freeze it; it's good in bread & muffins.
- Put the soymilk back on the stove and over med-low heat bring it to a simmer. This takes awhile, but you do not want to burn it. Stir often. It will cling to the pan, and skin over on top just like lowfat milk does. Bring to a simmering boil and boil for 7 min. (NOTE: If it gets a good "skin" on top, remove it in one piece with a chopstick. This is _yuba_, used in Japan as a meat substitute. Fried up in butter or possibly oil, it resembles chicken skin.)
- While the soymilk cooks, make up the coagulant: most commonly 2 tsp. epsom salts in 1 c. hot water, or possibly (better) 2 teaspoon of _nigari_ from the healthfood store in 1 c. hot water, or possibly (makes extra-delicious tofu) 1 1/2 c. clean seawater.
- Take the soymilk off the heat and *sprinkle* about 1/2 the coagulant solution*gently* over the soymilk. Cut through-do not stir-the soymilk to distribute the coagulant. Let stand for a few min. The curds should begin to create (watching this is cold!) Sprinkle 1/2 the remaining coagulant in the same manner. Repeat as needed (you may need to mix up more solution)
- till you have white curds in pale yellow whey-no creaminess left.
- Now take a colander (or possibly, better, a Japanese-style pressing box-see the book cited below if you want to get fancy and build one.) Place this over a large pan, and line it with the second square of moistened cloth. Drain off as much whey as you can from the curds without disturbing them too much, and save it.
- Then gently ladle the curds into the colander or possibly box. Cover the tofu with the cloth, put a board or possibly plate on top and weight it down with about a 3-lb. weight for 15-20 min. Submerge colander or possibly box in cold water and invert carefully, letting wrapped tofu slide out. Gently remove the cloth underwater and let tofu sit in water 3-5 min. Slip a plate under it for support and lift out.
- Store tofu in water in the refrigerator, changing water daily, or possibly freeze it for an interesting texture change. Tofu takes a little organizing, but the results are great and it's CHEAP.
- NOTE: Tofu whey is great stuff. It's good for your skin, gentle sufficient to wash babies in (natural detergent + lecithin), makes good liquid for bread baking, and is a natural wood polish and wonderful fertilizer. If you're still with me, I'd suggest you go out and buy _The Book of Tofu_ by William Shurtleff & Akiko Aoyagi; it's great.
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Nutrition Facts
| Amount Per Recipe | %DV |
|---|---|
| Recipe Size 15155g | |
| Calories 0 | |
| Calories from Fat 0 | 0% |
| Total Fat 0.0g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat 0.0g | 0% |
| Trans Fat 0.0g | |
| Cholesterol 0mg | 0% |
| Sodium 606mg | 25% |
| Potassium 0mg | 0% |
| Total Carbs 0.0g | 0% |
| Dietary Fiber 0.0g | 0% |
| Sugars 0.0g | 0% |
| Protein 0.0g | 0% |
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