3 MINUTE TOFU

• 6 c. hot water
• 2 c. fine soy flour

        Coat heavy saucepan with baking spray and heat until oil browns slightly. Add water and bring to a boil, then whisk in soy flour. Bring to a full boil over high heat (be careful, because it boils over easily), stirring constantly (about 30 seconds). VERY gently, stir in 3 T. white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to form curds and clear liquid. Pour into cheesecloth. Rinse gently under cool running water. Gather edges of cloth together and twist to squeeze out as much whey as possible. Squeeze out excess liquid with your hands. The harder you squeeze, the firmer the tofu.
        Use in patties, meat loaf, scrambled with eggs, etc. May be eaten plain, seasoned with salt and pepper, or seasoning of your choice, such as taco. Because this tofu retains all the fiber of the soybean, it is softer than the following recipe.

5-MINUTE TOFU

• 6 c. hot water
• 2 c. Fine soyflour

        Coat heavy saucepan with baking spray and heat until oil browns slightly. Add water and bring to a boil, then whisk in soy flour Bring to a full boil over high heat (be careful, because it boils over easily), stirring constantly (about 30 seconds). Pour into cheesecloth-lined strainer (4 layers, about 15" square) set in a large bowl to gather milk. To strain, gather the four edges of the cheesecloth, twist together, and use a spoon or spatula to press mixture down from the twisted part to a ball at the bottom. Press out as much milk as possible. Rinse cheesecloth, and use it to line colander again.
        Pour milk back into pan. Reheat milk just until it begins to boil. Remove from heat. VERY gently, stir in 3 T. white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to form curds and clear liquid. Place pan back on burner and cook another 30 seconds. Pour into cheesecloth. Rinse gently in cool water. Gather edges of cloth together and twist to squeeze out as much whey as possible. Place under cool running water and squeeze out excess liquid with your hands. The harder you squeeze, the firmer the tofu.
        Use lightly pressed tofu in shakes, patties, meat loaf, scrambled with eggs, etc. May be eaten plain, seasoned with salt and pepper, or seasoning of your choice.
        "Meat"balls - Mix 1 c. firm curds, 1 T. pinto bean flour, 1 egg, 2 t. dry minced onion, 1 T beef bouillon, pepper to taste and 1 c. cooked brown rice. Shape into balls or burgers and brown in a skillet coated with cooking spray.
        Taco "Meat" - Place firm curds in a small mixing bowl. Add 2 T. wheat or rice flour and season with 2 T. taco seasoning mix, or to taste. Cook to firm in a heavy skillet, stirring with a fork to keep curds separated. May be seasoned to taste like chicken, beef, etc. May be shaped into patties and browned in a skillet coated with cooking spray, or baked at 3500 for 20 minutes.
        For sliced "Tofu Overs," flatten ball slightly, then open cheesecloth and cut into strips (or form into patties before pressing). Season with salt, pepper, or other seasoning mix. I like to add a little soy sauce and a drop or two of sesame oil. Brown in heavy skillet coated with baking spray. Start on medium-high and brown on one side. Turn to low, cover pan, and brown on other side.

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TRADITIONAL SOYMILK AND TOFU
From Rita Bingham's Book, Country Beans.

        This "quick" 30-minute method found here came from pages 152-153 of Country Beans. You can make a large batch of tofu in less than 30 minutes. This complete protein food is excellent as a base for patties and meatless leaves and can be served (and hidden) in hundreds of different ways.

Homemade Tofu- You Have To Make The Soy Milk First.

Rinse, Soak and Grind:

• Rinse 4 cups whole dry beans. Cover with 12 cups boiling water and let soak 3-4 hours. Drain and rinse in a colander.
• Blend 1 cup of beans and 3 cups fresh hot water at a time, not more than 1 minute, being careful not to grind too fine.

Heat:

• In a large (3-4 gallon) pam'd pot, bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
• If mixture starts to boil over, add a little cold water or remove from heat and reduce heat slightly.

Strain:

• In a large mixing bowl, set a colander lined with several layers of cheesecloth. Pour in soybean mixture, then wash out cooking pan and again spray with Pam. Set aside. Allow mixture to cool and drain 5 minutes.
• Gather edges of cheesecloth and twist until cloth tightens, forming pulp into a ball. Lay twisted portion of cloth in center of ball and press with a wooden spoon (or your hands if you can stand the heat) to press out as much milk as possible. When pulp is fairly dry, open cloth and pour 3 cups boiling water over the pulp.
• Repeat the pressing process, squeezing the ball with your hands as it cools to extract the most milk possible. The soy milk can be refrigerated and used in place of regular milk in almost any recipe.
• The remaining pulp (okara) can be refrigerated or dried and stored in air-tight containers and used in other recipes.

What you have at this stage is soy milk - the same soy milk you pay big money for in the grocery and health food stores. What's The Best Thing? You made it yourself, it didn't kill you financially, and you didn't have to drive to the store to get it!

Now, Turning Soy Milk Into Tofu: Curdle:

• Again using your large Pam'd pot, bring the soy milk to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 7 minutes. Remove pot from burner.
• While simmering, dilute 1/2 c. of white vinegar or lemon juice (fresh, frozen or reconstituted) in 1-1/2 cups hot water. This is used as the coagulant. Stir soy milk vigorously and while stirring, pour in 1/3 of coagulant, stirring several more times to make sure solution is mixed in well. Now, stop stirring and hold stirring spoon upright in mixture and wait until mixture stops moving.
• Lift out spoon. Sprinkle another 1/3 of coagulant over surface of milk, cover and let rest 5 minutes. This allows large, fluffy curds to form. If soy milk has completely curdled (mixture will be in the form of white curds and clear, pale yellow liquid,) you are finished! If you still see milky liquid, gently stir the top part of the solution while adding remaining coagulant. Cover and let rest 3 more minutes.

Drain:

• Place cooking pot next to forming container lined with several layers of moistened cheesecloth. (You may use a specially made rectangular box with holes drilled into sides for drainage, or a colander.) Gently lower 8-10 inch strainer into curds and whey. This will allow you to ladle off whey from inside the strainer, without disturbing curds. When most whey is removed, remove strainer.
• Gently ladle curds into forming container. Fold edges of cloth neatly over curds, place a lid or plate on top of cloth. If using a colander, the plate needs to be of a size that will not touch the sides of the colander as the mixture shrinks while draining and pressing.
• On the top of the box, lid or plate, place a 1 quart jar of water and press for 15 minutes. For a firmer tofu, use a 2 quart jar for 20-30 minutes. Turn container upside down and gently lower cheese into a bowl and cold water. In about 5-8 minutes, your tofu will cool and firm.
• Gently remove cloth and cut into 3 inch squares, or leave whole. Refrigerate in a container of water or wrap and freeze. Can be kept in fridge up to 1 week if water is changed every day or two. (Frozen tofu will have a more meat-like texture that is an excellent meat substitute, but don't expect a smooth, thawed tofu.)

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Using Tofu

"Meat"balls - Mix 1 c. firm curds, 1 T. pinto bean flour, 1 egg, 2 t. dry minced onion, 1 T. beef bouillon, pepper to taste and 1 c. cooked brown rice. Shape into balls or burgers and brown in a skillet coated with cooking spray.

Taco "Meat" - Place firm curds in a small mixing bowl. Add 2 T. wheat or rice flour and season with 2 T. taco seasoning mix, or to taste. Cook to firm in a heavy skillet, stirring with a fork to keep curds separated. May be seasoned to taste like chicken, beef, etc. May be shaped into patties and browned in a skillet coated with cooking spray, or baked at 350ø for 20 minutes.

For sliced "Tofu Overs," flatten ball slightly, then open cheesecloth and cut into strips (or form into patties before pressing). Season with salt, pepper, or other seasoning mix. I like to add a little soy sauce and a drop or two of sesame oil. Brown in heavy skillet coated with baking spray. Start on medium-high and brown on one side. Turn to low, cover pan, and brown on other side.

Traditional Tofu

Using the instructions and "quick" 30-minute method found on page 152-153 of Country Beans, you can make a large batch of tofu in less than 30 minutes. This complete protein food is excellent as a base for patties and meatless loaves, and can be served (and hidden) in hundreds of different ways.

Copyright 1999 by Natural Meals Publishing. The information in this section may be freely used for non-profit purposes as long as the book source and author remain intact. Express permission of the author, Rita Bingham, must be received for commercial profit.

Updated: 5 Mar 01