Tofu is excellent food contains abundant nutrients such as protein and calcium. You can have a hearty meal using tofu even though there is no meat. It’s delicious yet low in calories compared to meat and fish!
Buying some tofu at stores is easy nowadays, but why don’t you try FRESH homemade tofu!
Ingredients (for 10.5 oz / 300g tofu)
・8.8 oz (250g) Soybeans
・1-1.5 tablespoon Nigari (coagulant)
Things to prepare
・Empty container of tofu (or any other plastic container)*1
・Cotton cloth*2
・Blender
・Rubber gloves
・Thermometer
*1 Make some holes in the bottom of the container.
*2 Sew it into a large bag.
Direction
1. Wash the soybeans very well, and soak them in water (4 cups) overnight.
2. Transfer the soybeans and a little water to your blender, and mix well 2 to 3 separate times. Mix until it becomes white and smooth paste.
3.Prepare 4 cups of boiled water in a big pot, and put the (2) soybean paste into the pot. Heat on high heat, and stir with a wooden spatula to prevent burning.
Reduce the heat to low just before the bubbles blow. Boil for about 8 minutes while stirring with a wooden spatula. Remove floating bubbles with a ladle.
4.Turn off the heat when there are few bubbles, and the odor peculiar to soybeans changes to a tofu-like smell.
Strain the thick paste using the bag made of cotton cloth. Squeeze the bag by your hands and strain it completely. Liquid made by straining is soy milk.
Please use rubber gloves to prevent burning your hands because it’s really hot.
By the way, the residue left in the bag is called “okara”, and you can eat it.
Please see here to check how to eat them: What Is Okara and How Is It Used?
5.Heat up the (4) soy milk up to 158 to 176℉ (70 to 80℃)*3.
Turn off the heat, and pour nigari evenly using a spatula. Make sure it can be spread over the whole soy milk. Check if they are separated after 2-3 minutes. The soy milk will be divided into solidified part and clear yellow liquid part. If the soy milk is as it is without solidifying, add more nigari (1/2 tablespoon), and gently stir the soy milk.
Put the lid on, and leave it for 10 minutes.
*3 It should be about 176℉ (80℃) if a lot of steam is rising in the pot after heating up the soy milk on middle heat for about 5 minutes. If it’s too high, it creates film on the surface of soy milk (which is called “yuba”), so please remove the film and let it cool down at that time.
6. Put kitchen paper on the plastic container with a hole in the bottom. Scoop the tofu from the pot (5), and put the tofu on the container. Flatten the surface and lightly press to harden. Put the container in some tray.
Put a cake cooler or something like that thing under the container so that water can drain from the bottom.
7. After a while, when the tray is filled with water, it’s done. You can eat as it is. Waiting overnight will make the tofu tighter.
