Homemade tofu: here is the soy cheese recipe

Often identified as a soy cheese, it lends itself to various uses: let's see together how to prepare homemade tofu.

Tofu, also known as soy cheese, is one of the ingredients in vegan and vegetarian recipes . The term cheese is actually a misnomer because tofu does not contain any milk derivatives. Homemade tofu is prepared starting from the fermentation of soy beans and the process takes place thanks to the use of nigari .

What is Nigari? It is none other than magnesium chloride . Basically it is what remains following the evaporation of sea water and after the removal of sodium chloride (common table salt). Also used in cosmetics and horticulture, the nigari in the kitchen is used to curdle soy milk.

How to make homemade tofu

1. Wash the soybeans under plenty of running water. Transfer it to a bowl and cover it with plenty of water. Leave the soy to rest for 24 hours , changing the water at least once.
2. After the soaking time, drain the soy and blend it with 500 ml of water. You will have to obtain a mixture as smooth as possible and to do this you will need a very powerful blender. For convenience, you can perform the operation in several stages.
3. In a saucepan, heat the remaining water and add the blended soybeans with the water.
4. Bring to a boil and turn off the flame.
5. With the help of a fine-mesh strainer and cheesecloth, filter the liquid in order to separate the solid part, called soy okara , from the actual soy milk .
6. Put the liquid back on the heat and let it boil for 10 minutes .
7. In the meantime, dissolve the nigari in a cup of hot water and add it when the liquid has cooled down. Mix gently and let the soy milk curdle for 10 minutes.
8. Line the tofu mold with a clean, white tea towel or gauze.
9. Take the soy flakes with a slotted spoon and gently transfer them into the mould. Remove the excess water, cover with the edges of the tea towel and press the tofu. Put a weight on it and let it rest. Times vary according to the desired consistency: after an hour you will have a rather soft tofu , which will gradually become more compact.
10. At this point you just have to transfer the dough into a container full of water for 20 minutes. In this way you remove the excess of nigari (responsible for a possible bitter taste) and you can then store it in an airtight container covered with water.

Homemade tofu without Nigari: the variations

It is possible to replace the nigari with the juice of an organic lemon : the result will be almost identical.

The same goes for homemade tofu with vinegar : it will take 40 ml of apple cider vinegar to replace it in this recipe.

Now that it's ready, here's how to cookgrilled tofu !

storage

Store the tofu in the fridge, in a container with a lid and covered with water for 3-4 days . You can also freeze it in the freezer in a special ice bag.

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