TOFU
1 ½ cups of high-grade soybeans
14 cups total spring or filtered water, room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons dry nigari
Tools:
Blender
Large heavy bottomed pot
Muslin
Large strainer or colander
-Soak soybeans in 5 cups water for at least 12 hours.
-Heat 6 cups of water in a heavy bottom pot. In a blender, puree beans and their soaking liquid in 3 batches for 2 minutes each time, you may risk burning out your blender if you puree it all in one shot. Add the puree in batches to the hot water and mix thoroughly after each time. Allow to come up to an almost boil on a medium-low setting. Stir frequently to avoid soybean pulp sticking to the bottom and scorching. Keep your eyes on the mixture making sure it doesn’t boil over. Remove from heat, cover and leave to cool for ½ hour.
-Make sure mixture is cooled enough to handle then strain using a muslin lined strainer or colander. Grab corners of the muslin and twist to press out all the soymilk. The leftover parched pulp is called okara and in Japan it is often times cooked with vegetables. Clean muslin out of all the pulp well, we will be using it again.
-Rinse pot out well and add the drained soymilk to it. Warm gently on low till the temperature reaches 175 degrees this process will take about an hour.
Tofu SkinsThe tofu skins or Yuba are served room temperature. They have the consistency of a super thin omelet. It takes some time to accumulate enough yuba for a few people to eat. We added some micro greens and herbs on top of the Yuba for a bit of crunch and hit it with some soy. You can add a little gomasio if you would like.. The tofu skins can be made ahead of time and stacked between pieces of parchment paper.