How to Make Tofu

Step 7: Finished

That's it! You are left with a nice slab of tofu, some soy milk and quite a bit of okara. It gets easier every time.

Comments

[thinkathena]

Hi, I tried a different recipe yesterday, and it did not work out - no curds :( I'm happy to find yours and will give it a try. In the other recipe, it said to heat up to 150-155 for 8 mins and to use 2 teaspoons (in my case, Epson salt) for 1 1/2 cups and 5 cups of water. I barely retrieved any curds. However, I did have a lot of okara left, which I made in protein bars. :)

[artxty]

Hi. Is it possible to re heat the soy milk, say i decide to make a tofu after a day, i'll just take it out of the fridge and re heat to 180 and add the epsom salt to make tofu?
Thanks

[mikeinternet]

I have yet to try this myself. But I see no reason why it would not work. I would not wait very long however to preserve freshness.

[Magnulus]

As someone who prefers to make his food from scratch, I'm looking forward to trying this. One question, though:

What kind of texture of tofu do you get from this? From looking at it, it looks quite firm and solid, which is what I want. I'm new to tofu, and the stuff I get in the supermarket tends to be way too crumbly for my liking.

[mikeinternet]

20 minutes in the mold makes very firm tofu. For softer tofu don't let it sit in the mold as long, maybe 5 minutes.

[rgarkey]

My tofu came out crumbly and did not set into a firm 'brick' like I'm used to buying from the market, is this normal or did I do something wrong?

[mikeinternet]

During my first few attempts at this I had a similar problem. When adding the coagulate you need to be sure the soy milk is heated back up to 180 degrees. This was what I was doing wrong and now that I check it with a thermometer I have never had any problems.

[Owlherder]

Thank you for making this Instructable. I've been making tofu this way for years. My brother made me some 4 sided wooden molds (no top and no bottom) made so that the resulting block of tofu will fit nicely into my Tupperware storage container, close in size to store-bought tofu blocks.

Set mold into a pan to catch the drainage, line the sides and bottom with strips of muslin, pour in the curds, place small block of wood on top (cut to fit inside the mold frame) and a couple of cans of food from the pantry on top of the wood block.

I just store my molds, muslin strips, home made straining bag all in my large canning pot in the garage. Everything is all together when I'm ready to make tofu.

[sacarlson]

Some comments from my experiences.

1. I use about 1 lb of dried beans and get at least 1 1/2 lbs of extra firm tofu.
2. I strain my okara before heating. I picked that up from a youtube video and it makes it less likely to over flow the pot
3. Please pay close attention once the temperature gets above ~160F. Stir a lot to keep it from rolling over the pot.
4. I dissolve my nigari in another pot and pour the cooked milk in all at once from about 2 feet high. May seem odd, but this caused a very even mixture and I get a very consistent curd when it sets. No uncurdled spots.

5. I sewed my own straining bags and pressing bags from muslin, to fit the containers better.
6. I use the okara to make omlettes that even my kids love.
7. I clean the bags by boiling in water for a couple minutes once everything is done.
8. I have a pressing box (got it as a gift) and use 3 paver bricks as weight. They are wrapped in plastic wrap, and taped shut. I use one brick that was cut short (during my driveway project) first, as it fits in the pressing block

[mikeinternet]

These are all excellent notes, especially the tips on avoiding a boil-over. I would suggest using a very large pot. I make double batches in a 22-quart pot.

Thanks!

[fdcontre]

the epsom salt give the curd any taste ?

[mikeinternet]

Not that I can tell. It is not salty at all.

[eaemeric]

I got a very small amount of tofu after following this guide exactly, and I only took out one jar of soymilk. Is there anything that I could have done to cause this?

[mikeinternet]

Did you use 3 cups of dried beans? Once they soak they will nearly triple in size.

Or possibly it didn't coagulate completely and when you strained the tofu curds out you lost some. Did the water get yellowish-clear?

[eaemeric]

The water was yellow-ish clear, and I measured out the beans. However, looking at some pictures more closely, I don't think I ground them fine enough before letting them simmer, which might have something to do with it. I'll re-try and let you know.

[mamaof7]

ok my question is answered here, maybe I should read right through next time lol

[darkknight671]

Or just skip the reply... There is a cancel button.

[Kaycey1]

How long is it good for?
This goes for both the milk and tofu

[mikeinternet]

I've never seen it go bad. Although it will start to loose freshness after a few days. I would plan on eating it within a week tops. Freezing the tofu will let you keep it longer but will cause the consistency to become more bread-like.

[craftthefuture]

So awesome! How much tofu do you get in the end? From the photo it's hard to tell how much that is...

[fbceachday]

Thank you for this. Did you reserve some of the soy milk to drink? If so, how much did you heat to make the tofu?

[mikeinternet]

Yes I always take out a jar or two of soy milk and make the rest into tofu. Not sure the exact amount I just follow what I wrote up here. Probably about 12 cups or more.

[fbceachday]

Thank you for your prompt reply. I have the beans soaking. :)

[elvenroi]

What can you do with the Okra?

[stimps]

You can make a fantastic casserole with okara - mix some up with tomatoes, fried onions and peppers, some cooked bulgur wheat, with some cheese if you like it, bake it for an hour or so at 350 degrees. I add spice according to what I feel like having that day, and it all works because okara soaks up the flavours of anything you put with it. I also add some black beans in sometimes for colour and texture. Yeah, beans + beans, but what the heck. =)

[mikeinternet]

Okara can be added to smoothies, bean burgers, or bread. But there is aso this great recipe. These cookies stay chewy!

Okara Cookies
• 2 cups flour (Up to a 1/2 cup wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cup okara
• 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Chocolate Chips? Almonds? Peanut butter? Craisins?

Mix everything together, dry first then okara and vanilla. If needed add water a little at a time until doughy. Add chips or what have you. Shape into cookies and bake 20minutes at 375 degrees.

[kokla]

You can also make Soysages. The okara is also very healthy for animal feed too, goats, pigs and chickens love it.

[KedaDibandion]

http://www.justhungry.com/2006/04/milking_the_soy.html

This site has some good ideas.