Making my own soy milk and beancurd - Hemgjört Soymjölk och beancurd

This is my very first successful home-made beancurd! Nice eh? Behind this successful experiment lies many unsuccessful ones. They are mostly unsuccessful because the soymilk did not set enough and I think my use of gypsum which I bought from my Chinese medical hall back in Singapore is the main reason a beancurd was born in my kitchen.

For those who are lactose intolerant, soy bean products, and for that Sweden will be a good place to live because they provide many lactose free alternatives and they are about the same price or just slightly more expensive than normal products. I also have to give credit to these two sites :  Uhandblog and Messy Vegetarian which provide very clear steps on what to do and what to expect. I also had my Fushia Dunlop's recipe for making flower beancurd so I adjusted to what suited me the most. The hardest thing to find for someone who wants to make your own tofu is the coagulant and I have tried nigari (from health food store) and gypsum and the latter works better. I also got some lactone from a baking supplies shop in Singapore and it is supposed to work too but I will let you know when I try with that.

Ingredients

300g soy beans, soaked overnight

1/2 tablespoon corn starch

1.5 teaspoon gypsum

1/2 cup cold water for blending the corn start and gypsum powder 

Cold water for blending the soy beans with (2 cups of water for every cup of soy beans, 1.5 cups for the last cup of soy beans)

Equipment

cheese cloth

sieve

container for setting the tofu in which can drain off excess water

heavy objects like stones or cans or pestle 

Large deep pot

Steps

1. Drain the soaked soy beans and blend the beans with the amount cold water as stated above.
2. Use a cheese cloth to strain the soy bean mixture, squeezing out as much soy milk as possible. The residue is called okara, which can be made into dishes or cookies. (Again, when I try it, I will post it up :p)
   
   
   
   
3. Pour the soy milk into a deep pot. Boil the soy milk for at least 20-25 minutes and keep a close watch on it because it will be foamy and threaten to overflow very quickly once it reach heating point. I tend to stir it often and take it off the heat once in a while if I can't 'calm' it down. Prepare the coagulant mixture in a deep bowl by mixing 1/2 cup cold water with the cornstarch and gypsum meanwhile between the break from stirring.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Let the soy milk cool to 85°C. If you like to set aside a bowl of soy milk, you may do so at this point of time. Stir the coagulant in the bowl first and then pour the remaining soy milk from a height straight into the bowl containing the coagulant mixture and leave it alone without stirring.
   
   
   
   
   
   Coagulent
   
   
5. When you see the tofu has set, you may scoop some out from the whey to be the flower bean curd and scoop the rest into the mould you have lined with a cheese cloth.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Cover the soft bean curd and weigh heavy items on top of it to help press out the water. The longer you leave it to set, the firmer the beancurd will be.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Use the beancurd immediately or store in the fridge to consume within the next few days.
   
   
   
8. For the soy milk, it's nice to have it hot with some sugar added and dip a youtiao or two with it.
   
   
   
   
   
9. For the flower beancurd, you can either make a simple sugar syrup to pour over it or a gula melaka/palm sugar one by melting them with some water and spoon it over for a nice sweet dessert.
   
   
   
   
   
   

Fried Edamame/Young Soy Bean/Mou Dou with Minced Meat

It's been a while since I've posted but I'm back! Just refreshed from a trip in Göteborg where I spent a couple of days with an old Swedish class friend who will be flying back to China. We were treated to delicious home-cooked meal by her boyfriend (called shifu) and this was something I tried immediately when I got back. I normally eat the frozen edamame by boiling them for a couple of minutes and salting them after drying them like a healthy snack. However, I was informed the Chinese actually call them hairy beans (on account of the small hairs on the pea pods) and fry them like a dish. I really like the crunch of it and the fragrance the jalapeno brings to it. Add it to cold noodles (which I will post up later) makes it a really fulfilling dish!

Det var ett tag sedan jag postat men jag är tillbaka! Jag åkte till en kort resa i Göteborg några dager sedan med en gamla svenska klass kompis som kommer att flyga tillbaka till Kina. Vi var bjöds på utsökt hemlagad mat av sin pojkvän (som kallas Shifu) och detta var något jag försökte direkt när jag kom tillbaka. Jag äter normalt frysta Edamame genom att koka dem ett par minuter och saltning dem efter torkning dem, som ett hälsosamt mellanmål. Men jag var informerade i Kina, man faktiskt kallar dem hårig bönor (på grund av små hår på ärt baljor) och stek dem som en maträtt. Jag gillar verkligen kritan av den och doften av jalapeno leder till det. Lägga till det kalla nudlar (som jag kommer att lägga upp senare) gör det en riktigt uppfyller maträtt!

Ingredients

300g Edamame/ young soy beans/ mou dou, deshelled if you didn't get them as individuals beans already.

150-200g minced pork

1 garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

2 jalapeno, de-seeded and sliced thinly

dash of pepper and soy sauce

Chicken stock powder to taste

Steps

1. Heat up a pan with about 2 tablespoon cooking oil until hot, then tip in the minced garlic and shallot, sweating it till you can smell the fragrance emitting. Add in the jalapeno and stir fry for about 30 seconds.
2. Next, add the minced meat and stir fry them until cooked. Add in a dash of soy sauce and pepper and mix it thoroughly.
3. Add in the soy beans and stir fry them, adding in about 3 tablespoon of water, and chicken stock powder to taste. When the soy bean is done (with a slight crunch), serve them hot as a dish, or as a topping for Chinese cold noodles.