The process of making tofu at home is certainly entertaining. The tofu is a bit creamier in taste and texture and tends to firm up more than store bought. However, unless you live in an area that makes obtaining fresh or dried soybeans easy it may not be cost effective. If you're using a 1 pound package of dried soybeans be aware that you'll need a fairly large pot for the last few steps.
First rinse the soybeans. Place them in a container with enough water to fully cover them plus some. As soybeans are rehydrated they will start to expand quite a bit.
Soak times for dried soybeans change depending on ambient temperatures. I like to give mine a minimum of 12 hours for a room temperature of around 70°F. Starting the soak the evening before you intend to make the tofu works well.
Before you start blending start a large pot of water boiling.
I like to remove any excess water leftover from the soak and ensure that the water line is level with the rehydrated soybeans. Place the soybeans and water in your blender and make it as creamy as possible.
Namago, blended soybeans and water
Add the namago slowly to the pot of boiling water. Air bubbles will inevitably be introduced into the namago as part of the blending process and suddenly diluting the mixture into hot water can cause it to foam up very very quickly.
Bring the pot steadily back to a boil and reduce the heat to a medium simmer. Continue stirring frequently to prevent the mixture from sticking and burning on the pot.
While you're stirring prepare your cheese cloth or filter bag.
Slowly pour the boiled mixture through the filter. If you're using a cheese cloth like I did in these images you may need to occasionally scoop out the pulp, called okara, into a separate container.
Once you've fully strained the mixture you'll be left with okara and soy milk.
The okara can be used for all sorts of things like making veggie burgers. I like to bake it at a very low heat to remove any extra moisture and then store it in the refrigerator.
Heat the soy milk to around 160-175°F. Do not boil the soy milk.
If you are using nigari as your coagulant then follow the directions on the container. If you're using lemon juice the volume necessary can vary dramatically. I've found that diluting about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a 1/2 cup of water works well to get started.
Slowly sprinkle the coagulant into the hot soy milk and mix it fully. Continue to mix until you start to see some separation. If you've ever made cheese it will actually start to look quite a bit like milk curds separating.
Separation beginning
Once you start to see separating mix slowly a few more times. If it appears that the clear liquid portion is a little too cloudy then add more coagulant.
Stop mixing and allow it to sit for 20-30 minutes. During this time prep your cheese cloth or filter bag again.
Gently pour the coagulated soy milk into your filter. You want to remove as much of the clear liquid as possible without breaking apart the largest curds. You can also just use a straining spoon to slowly scoop the curds out into the filter.
I like to just twist the filter cloth into a ball and knot the end. This lets you gently apply pressure and create a flat cake. You can also use a small pot with a bit of water to apply weight to the cake and firm it up some more.
After shaping and pressing the tofu for 15-30 minutes remove the cake from the filter cloth and add it to ice cold water for several minutes. This part of the process forces the proteins to tighten. Giving you a stronger, firmer tofu.
You can slice and prepare your tofu any way you like. On this particular occasion I was preparing an udon vegetable sukiyaki and this tofu went amazingly with it.
