Adventures in Soymilk making.

Not remembering that your blender has a lid will lead to this vomit-like spectacle. 

Making Soymilk is SOOO cheap (this batch of organic soymilk cost .68 cents) and easy, albeit a pain in the neck.  A Chinese customer at the grocery store that I work at laughed when I told her that I try to make my own soymilk, since machines are made to do that.  Guess I'm a little oblivious - I've only known about rice cookers for a few years.

Ok, soymilk:  it's easy.  After soaking a cup or so of soybeans overnight, rinse them in a sieve or colander and place them blender, adding fresh water until it's about two inches above the soy beans.  Grind to a chunky pulp; this will help break down the bean so that the enzymes are more easily utilized in the cooking process. 

Now bring your soy slush to a boil.  After it reaches a boil, leave it to simmer for about a half hour.  Skim the fluff that rises constantly. 

What the...

 

Fluff!

After simmering your soybeans for 30-40 minutes, strain it, ideally in a cheesecloth-lined strainer.  I always use a sieve, and bits of bean usually remain in my final mixture.  One of these days I'll remember cheesecloth.  Please don't think you're doing yourself any favors by undercooking the soybeans; like many beans, raw soy is pretty much toxic!  The bean needs to defend themselves from being eaten somehow, right? 

Okara makes great soymeat.

After straining, you'll have this mush: it's Okara.  Mix it with oat flour and marinara, coat it in Italian seasonings and whole wheat flour, and bake it on an oiled cookie sheet for an *AWESOME* soy chicken.  I found the recipe on a blog of okara recipes, and it's called "Maria's Un-Chicken."  I don't know who Maria is, but many thanks to her.

Soymilk made this way is somewhat beany-tasting.  But it works.  I drink it because it's healthier than boxed soymilk.  You can add a little salt or agave if you like, but I have many times ruined soymilk trying to make it taste like the stuff from the store, which is actually just watered down and thickened with fillers. 

FOR TOFU: the next step would be coagulation.  I've tried vinegar, I've tried limes... what did I get?  Lime-flavored curdles/ vinegar-flavored curdles (the vinegar curdles were admittedly better.)  It looked just like baby spit-up.  From experience, I'd suggest taking this soymilk and adding a REAL coagulator made specifically for tofu.  Just mix the soymilk/coagulator and pour it over a cheesecloth-lined strainer.  It will harden in the strainer, and the liquid will spill out as it hardens.  After it hardens, you should "press" it with something.  More on this later.

Good luck!

(*NOT KOMBUCHA!)