Tofu - recipe #2

Softer. Thats the word that designates this from the first. The process included 18 hours in the fromagerie (cheese maker) which keeps it at a warmer temperature (its this difference in temp that designates cheese from yogurt, by the way). The end result was smoother, much softer tofu with a lighter white color. I went ahead and drained the tofu to see how "firm" it would get, but I think that was a mistake. Seeing as it never really got firm, I am not sure what to do with it. It would dissipate in a soup, wouldn't hold together to stir fry, and isn't a nice enough texture to eat alone.

Conclusion: this process would be perfect if you stop after the aging, sprinkle it with sugar, and eat it as the soft "brain tofu" desert we used to eat in China.

The other lesson: your choice of soymilk is important. If you dont like the flavor of the drink, you won't like the flavor of the tofu.

To make:

Heat 1/2 liter of soy milk to just warmer than warm. Dissolve one heaping tsp of Nigari in 4 tsp of water, stir into the soymilk, and pour it all into the filters that come in the fromagerie (if you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it. It will be clear if you take the plunge with the fromagerie).
Set it to 18 hours on the cheese setting and do whatever it is you do for the 18 hours of the day that you are not making tofu.

Gently remove the filters from their cups, and you will see a whey left behind that is so clear that it looks like water, and a very, very soft tofu inside the filters. This was really where I saw the difference between the two tofus; the whey of the first, faster version retains a yellowish coloring and isn't completely clear. This time there was a complete separation of whey and tofu, meaning there was a much cleaner whey and a lot more tofu!

Place the filters on a plate (it will continue to drain, so the plate is to keep you from having a huge mess on your counter) and let sit for 30 minutes. Drain as much as you'd like through a cheese cloth, but I would suggest just letting it gently strain on its own, without too much squeezing to allow it to keep the soft, jelly texture. Sprinkle with sugar or find some other cool use and tell me about it! I need ideas!

Theory: this would be of great use in vegan recipes because of its texture...

Tofu - recipe #1

Tofu is the unknown, magical, oriental secret that we plebian westerners only have access to in hip healthy grocery stores. In China my friends and I would buy what they called "brain tofu" off street venders in little cups with brown sugar and plastic spoons - that variety was softer, almost like a fuller (yet lighter...) yogurt with a bit more "squish." In college we cut and fried it and ate it with broccoli and soy sauce and now Mansour and I throw it in with mozzerella as an afterthought when we thaw soup for dinner. But I've honestly never known where it really comes from.

It turns out tofu-making has a very similar method to yogurt/cheese making (heat milk, add fermenter/hardener, let sit, strain as needed) but the differences in ingredients makes it tofu instead of the cross between sour cream and cream cheese that is fromage blanc. So! Here is the first of the two recipes!

NOTE: the second will require my new fromagerie... which requires for sitting for 18 hoursto plan.

The only special equipment you will need for #1 is a cheese cloth. Nigari might also be a bit annoying to locate, but most crunchy, hippy, healthy-ish stores seem to carry it. In the package it looks like large white fish flakes, but when you touch it it is almost glassy and makes pretty clinking noises when you spill it on the counter (and floor, in my case). Otherwise, over-the-counter magnesium works, too, in the same quantities.

Ingredients:
1L soy milk
2 heaping teaspoons Nigari flakes disolved in
4 teaspoons water

Utensils:
Pot for boiling
cheesecloth
sieve (like you use to drain boiled pasta, yes?)
heavy pot/pan with a flat bottom, or a large plate you can put some water in (this is just for weight, to put on top of the tofu, so dont worry about it being anything special)
wooden cutting board (eh... probably not required)

Bring the soy milk slowly and gently to a boil. Pour in Nigari dilution and stir minimally. It will start to "curdle" (if we can call it that with soymilk?) almost immediately, which means it will look like really bad sour milk floating in water. lovely. I know.

Leave it for a bit longer as the curdles grow and lump together until there are very distinctly two different substances in the pot; one a yellowed clear liquid and clumps of soon-to-be homemade tofu.

Pour all of this through the sieve that you have lined with the cheesecloth, gather the corners of the cloth and start squeezing to drain the liquid out of the tofu. CAREFUL, though, the liquid that comes out is REALLY HOT. boiling, actually. I ran this all under cold water as I squeezed and still burned myself a little.

This will be the basic shape of your finished tofu, so shoot for "pretty ball." Place the tofu, still in the cheesecloth wrap, on a wooden cutting board and put your heavy pot on top. Leave for 10 minutes, flip, leave for 10 more. This both evacuates more liquid, making it firmer, and gives it a nice flat disk shape.

Gently unwrap the tofu and place it in a tupperwear (or whatever you have) container, submersed in water in the fridge, where it will continue to firm.

It should keep for 3 or 4 days, but keep it immersed under the water!

Okay, I failed on "pretty" this time. BUT ITS TOFU! Also, this is a half recipe, so don't worry, you'll have more than this tiny ball's worth!