My first attempt at making tofu
Several weeks ago, I bought a Soyabella soya milk making machine, and since then I have made quite a lot of soya milk. I mainly use it to make yoghurt, which works extremely well; it thickens like dairy yoghurt, unlike yoghurt made with nut milk. Also, I have found that making custard from traditional Bird’s custard powder with almond milk doesn’t taste right, but with soya it’s fine. I still prefer the almond milk in tea and coffee, though, so I shall continue to make both, and my hubby likes the almond milk on his porridge for breakfast. The Soyabella machine takes all the hassle out of the process – soya beans need to be cooked, and doing this on the stove makes the operation more time-consuming than I’m prepared to put up with.
The machine both grinds and cooks the beans, and produces lovely soya milk in about 15-20 minutes.
So far I am thrilled with the versatility of soya milk. When you make it, you end up with soya bean pulp, which is called okara, and this can be used for many things. I have discovered it thickens my vegan casserole gravy beautifully! You can also bake with it, and make patties and rissoles… I have a lot of exploring to do, to find all the uses for this protein and phyto-nutrient rich product.
When I bought the machine, I also bought a tofu press because I thought it would be fun to try making this soya bean curd. I have never eaten it before but everyone raves about it. It has virtually no flavour, but will take up the flavour of any ingredients you use to cook with it.
Looking up tofu on the Internet, I found an interesting article which says:
“There are numerous types of tofu, including extra firm, firm, soft, and silken tofu. Extra firm and firm tofu have textures similar to cooked meat and raw meat, respectively. Their rigidity lends them to use in stir-fry dishes, grilling, and soups. Soft and silken tofu are fragile and have soft and silky textures. Soft and silken tofu can be blended into sauces or used as desserts or drinks. Other types of tofu include fermented tofu, flavoured tofu, fried tofu, and frozen tofu.
“Nutritionally, tofu is cholesterol free, low in saturated fat, and high in protein. On a moisture-free basis, tofu contains about 50% protein and 27% fat, most of which is polyunsaturated fatty acids. Tofu is also a good source of calcium. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a soy health claim in 1999, and tofu has been shown to have numerous health benefits (Rekha and Vijayalakshmi 2013).”
This is the equipment needed to make the tofu. You also need a large saucepan and a wooden spoon.
You have to add a coagulant in order to separate the curds from the whey. I bought a small packet of Nigari, which is crystallised magnesium chloride combined with calcium chloride (also known as nigari salts); it is supposed to be the best coagulant for producing a good strong and elastic tofu, but you can also use calcium sulphate (gypsum), or magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts) or lemon juice. Different coagulants yield different results. In the above photo you can see the tofu press lined with muslin, and its lid; the nigari, a small bowl containing nigari dissolved in water, ready to be added to the soya milk, and a thermometer (this is not essential, but useful to check the exact temperature).
Heating the soya milk. I made three one-litre batches in the Soyabella, having soaked two cups of dry beans the day before.
When it was almost at boiling point (I checked the temperature and removed it from the heat when the thermometer read about 97 deg. C – although some instructions say you only need to heat it to about 70 degrees), you remove it from the heat. You can also see when it’s about to boil, when the surface starts moving gently, before bubbles start to rise.
While stirring rapdily, in order to create a whirlpool, you pour in the nigari solution and stir for a few seconds with a circular motion, and then back and forth, to make sure it is completely dispersed, and then cover the pan and leave it to stand for 5-10 minutes, or until the curds have formed.
It then needs to be strained in order to separate the curds from the whey. I put a large muslin cloth into a colander and placed this over a large bowl, and poured the mixture in. Lifting the edges of the muslin and moving the mixture around got the straining started.
Once it is dry enough, you can gather the edges of the muslin and squeeze out the liquid. It’s still quite hot, and I found it easier to wear rubber gloves.
What you are left with is the whey. This is highly nutritious and should not be thrown away. I have poured mine into two milk containers ready to freeze; I shall use it as the basis for vegetable stock, instead of the filtered water I normally use.
You then take the curds and press them into the tofu press, which you line with the muslin cloth, making sure you press the curds well into the corners. Press it down well with the back of a spoon.
Then fold the muslin over the top so that the block of curds is completely wrapped up.
Now it is time to put the lid on the tofu press. Put the tofu press into a dish to catch any excess liquid; mine didn’t produce very much because I’d already squeezed it pretty well over the colander in the muslin cloth.
Place something heavy on top of the lid (I used the weights from my old-fashioned kitchen scales) and leave it. Some people suggest leaving it for about 20 minutes, but the longer you leave it, the better – I just got on with clearing up the kitchen and one or two other jobs, so it was probably left for 2 or 3 hours. I didn’t time it.
Remove the weights and the lid, and gently lift the muslin parcel out of the press. Unwrap it and you have a block of tofu.
It needs careful handling at this stage, because it is still quite fragile. I placed a plastic container over it, and turned the whole thing over, so that the tofu dropped off the muslin and into the container. I covered it with cold water and put it in the fridge. Storing it in cold water firms it up, and you can keep it for about 7-10 days in the fridge, changing the water periodically, if you don’t use it all up in that time.
I have found a couple of recipes online, and I am keen to try cooking with this tofu.
If you make your own soya milk to make tofu, you end up with three different products for your money, all of which are extremely nutritious and useful: the okara (soya pulp generated from the milk-making process), the tofu, and the whey. If you make extra milk, you have that too!
I’ll let you know how I get on, cooking with tofu, and what it is like to eat.
