San Francisco is inhabited by people from different cultures and hence the existence of the different cuisines which makes coming back to the West of Ireland a bit of a struggle. I love Tofu -strange but true-. Thinly sliced, fried untill crispy in the frying pan and topped with my own Chilli Jam, hmmm. It is available, if you know where to get it, but I decided to try to make it myself.
The first recipe didn't work out too well but my second experiment produced a lovely firm, creamy coloured block of homemade Tofu, made with Organic Soy Beans. It needs to be said though that it is quite a bit of work for little Tofu but I make twice the recipe as I have a big pot where all the Soy Beans and water fit in. Still I wouldn't mind if it would make a bit more, but this way it's something special. And the more often you make it the faster it seems to go. Fresh Tofu keeps in the fridge for up to a week, just make sure that, if you don't use it all, you refresh the water that you keep the Tofu in daily. You can also freeze your Tofu for up to 3 months although freezing will make it chewier as the texture will change.
Tofu is also known as Soybean Curd or Beancurd and is made from curdled Soymilk. The firmness depends on how much of the Whey (liquid) has been drained off. I like firm Tofu so the weighing down and draining takes a bit longer than for a softer one.
All that Tofu is is Soy Beans and Nigari. Nigari is a "hard, chrystallized salt made from the liquid droppings of dampened seasalt" and you can buy it at your Health Food Store. I know that Munster Wholefoods in the West of Ireland have it and they supply to most Health Food Stores. If they don't stock it ask them to order it for you.
This is the recipe I use. And again if you have a big stockpot that holds 2 or even 3 times the recipe go ahead, the time it will take will be pretty much the same.
500 gr. Soy Beans (use Organic if possible)
20 gr. Nigari
Rinse the Beans and soak them in at least double the amount of water overnight, make sure that you put them in a container big enough to hold at least twice the volume as the Beans will expand.
The next day blend the Beans with enough water as smooth as possible, it won't get completely smooth because you are still using dried reconstituted beans. You have to do this in batches and make sure that you don't overheat your blender.
Put all the blended Soy Beans in a big pot and add water till its 1.5 times the quantity. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat so it boils slowly for 30 minutes constantly stirring, otherwise it will stick at the bottom. Some pots tend to do this more than others. Skim the foam off as needed, washing the Beans before soaking should reduce this.
Just before the end of the 30 minutes dissolve the Nigari in a little bit of water.
Put a Colander in a big Bowl and line the Colander with a clean Kitchen Towel or Muslin (Cheesecloth) and drain the Beans, make sure you catch the liquid (Soy Milk) as this is what you need to make the Tofu from. Lift the Kitchen Towel and squeeze as much liquid out as possible, carefull not to burn yourself. Another way to do this is ladle some in a Fine Mesh Sieve and push the liquid out. Either discard the pulp -which is called Okara- or use it in recipes for steamed or toasted Okara or as part of the dough in bread or cookies .
Clean the Pot and return the liquid into it. Let it cool for 5 minutes. Slowly pour in the Nigari while stirring and you will see that the liquid starts to seperate immediately. Bring slowly to a boil and let it simmer (barely boiling) for 5 minutes.
I use a rectangular icecream container with holes in the bottom, that I made myself with a small sharp knife. Line it with Muslin (Cheesecloth), making sure it's bigger than the container to cover the top of the Tofu. Use a ladle to take the Curd out of the pot into the container or poor it slowly into the mold. The liquid should drain through the holes at the bottom.
Fold the Muslin over the top, cover with a plate or piece of plastic (I cut the lid of the container to size) and put something heavy on the top (can of beans, jar filled with water etc.). The length of time for draining depends on how firm you want your Tofu. Soft Tofu doesnt take long. The heavier the weight, the better the drainage and the longer you let it stand the firmer your Tofu. Anything from 5-15 minutes. Just check it.
Fill a seperate bowl with water. Carefully take the Tofu and Muslin out of the container and let it slip into the water, unwrap it. Let it stand for a couple of minutes so the water will wash any Nigari away and transfer to a clean container big enough to hold the Tofu and enough water to cover.
What I do with my Tofu is this. When you take it out of the water, put it on a piece of kitchen towel and let it drain a bit. Slice it thinly and season with Salt and Pepper. Heat a frying pan till nice and hot, add a little Olive Oil and fry off the slices untill crisp on both sides. Serve with Sweet Chilli Sauce or Chilli Jam. Or cut it in cubes and fry it in a fryingpan with a little bit of oil untill browned. Add this to a nice hot Lentil Curry when it's done and let it heat through.
You could also flavour your Tofu by adding ingredients like Herbs and Spices before you stir the Nigari in.
Technorati: Soy, Bean, Tofu, Nigari, Cheese Cloth
Wow..a fascinating cullinary experiment. How much tofu did you end up with?
Posted by: OneTrickPony | June 17, 2006 at 10:36 AM
I did twice the recipe as I said I have a big pot that keeps this much. Using a good blender helps. I ended up with 28oz (about 800gr) of Tofu. It is a lot of work for the amount you get but it's fun to do and you can't compare it with shopbought unless you get it really fresh.
Posted by: funkiefoods | June 17, 2006 at 12:03 PM
Wow--Braver than I! Way Cool Kiddo. I've never attempted the dark Asian arts, but you seem to have mastered them. I'll be trying this one very soon.
Posted by: Podchef | June 17, 2006 at 11:50 PM