Although tofu can be easily bought at the market, for housewives who have never made tofu before and want to try making it themselves at home, we'd like to share some knowledge about how to make authentic natural tofu.

Ingredients

  • Soybeans 600 grams
  • Water 5 liters and 250 milliliters
  • Rice vinegar 3 tablespoons

Step-by-step method

1. Wash the soybeans thoroughly until clean, then soak them in water for about one night. The next morning, put them into a blender with 5 liters of water and blend.

For each blending batch, use 200 grams of soybeans with 1 liter of water. Keep the remaining water aside for straining later.

2. Prepare a tin pot, a strainer, and a clean piece of cloth beforehand. Place the strainer on top of the tin pot. Then line it with the clean piece of cloth.

Pour the blended soybean liquid into the clean cloth. Wrap the cloth closed and squeeze out the liquid. Once you've squeezed out the liquid, soybean pulp will remain. Pour the remaining 3 liters of water from earlier over the soybean pulp and squeeze again.

3. Finally, you'll have soy milk in the tin pot. Heat the soy milk until it comes to a boil. Skim off any foam that rises due to the heat using a spoon. You'll also need to stir frequently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Let it cool for about 2 to 3 minutes. By then, the temperature should have dropped to around 80-90 degrees Celsius.

4. In a bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar with 250 milliliters of water. Then, using a medium-sized spoon, add the vinegar mixture into the soy milk one spoonful at a time, stirring gently each time. While stirring this way, only skim the surface lightly with the spoon and stir gently.

You'll need to be patient and stir carefully during this step.

5. You'll gradually see the soy milk transform from liquid into curds. At that point, prepare a square container with a lid, along with the cloth from earlier. Line the container with the cloth.

Then scoop up the soy curds with a strainer and transfer them into the container.

6. Next, wrap the curds completely with the cloth, then gently press down with your hands to let the liquid drain out. After that, close the container lid and press down again. Place a weight on top of the container.

7. If you want soft tofu, pressing for about 10 minutes is enough. If you want firm, dense tofu blocks, you'll need to wait about one hour.

8. Once the set time has passed, soak the tofu block in cold water for at least 30 minutes. This will remove the sour and bitter taste from the tofu.

Well then, now you've got authentic homemade natural tofu, completely free from chemicals and preservatives.

Source: Chinasichuanfood.com