The Art of Making Fresh Tofu: A Journey of Trial and Error

As I stood at my stovetop, attempting to make fresh tofu, I couldn't help but think that it's easier than it looks. The process involves cooking soybeans, mixing them with a coagulant, heating the mixture to a specific temperature, and then waiting for the magic to happen. But, as I quickly learned, the journey of making fresh tofu is not without its challenges.

First, we need to cook our soybeans. This may seem like a simple task, but trust me, it's not as straightforward as you think it is. We're going to cook this and when it comes to a boil, we're going to lower it and then simmer it for 15 minutes. The foam that rises up is what you want to see - it's like a sign of the mixture coming together. As I watched, the soybeans began to foam, and I knew we were on the right track.

Next, we need to add our coagulant, which is made from magnesium chloride and hot water. This is where things can get tricky, as you want to mix it slowly and gently into the mixture without introducing too much air or stirring too hard. But don't worry, with a little patience and practice, you'll get the hang of it.

Once we've added our coagulant, we need to wait for about 10 minutes for the mixture to set. This is the hardest part - waiting for what feels like an eternity while the mixture slowly comes together. But trust me, it's worth it. As I waited, I couldn't help but think of my grandma and her amazing tofu soup recipes. She used to make this all the time, and even now, I crave it like constantly.

Finally, we need to strain the mixture through a cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve to remove any excess liquid and achieve that perfect milky smooth texture. And voila! Our fresh soy milk is born. It's creamy, rich, and utterly delicious - just like the soybeans you started with.

Now that we have our soy milk, it's time to make our tofu block. We'll add some flavorings like pork belly, kimchi, and chili flakes to give it a boost of flavor. Then, we'll press the mixture into a mold or use a strainer to remove any excess liquid and achieve that perfect firm texture.

The key to making great tofu is using a high-quality coagulant and not over-mixing the mixture. You also need to be patient and gentle when handling the tofu, as it can be fragile and prone to breaking. But with practice and patience, you'll be making fresh tofu like a pro in no time.

And speaking of freshness, our fresh tofu is finally ready to eat! I submerged it in cold water for at least 30 minutes before serving, which helped to remove any excess liquid and achieve that perfect texture. The result was nothing short of magical - a beautifully firm tofu block with a delicate texture and an amazing flavor.

As I took my first bite of the fresh tofu, I couldn't help but think about how much joy it brings me. It's not just a food, but a way to connect with my heritage and traditions. And that's what making fresh tofu is all about - sharing love, care, and attention to detail into every step of the process.

The kimchi salad is another story altogether. I used chopped garlic, ginger, chili flakes, fish sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and a little bit of sugar to create a flavor profile that's both bold and balanced. The result was a beautiful combination of flavors that complemented the tofu perfectly.

In conclusion, making fresh tofu is not just about following a recipe - it's an art form that requires patience, practice, and attention to detail. But with every step of the process, you'll discover the joy and satisfaction of creating something truly special. So go ahead, give it a try, and experience the magic of fresh tofu for yourself!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: entoday I'm gonna show you how to make tofu baby Miss Esther toy I am the chef and owner of mock bar and miss you in New York City tofu is amazing you only need one major ingredient any dried beans that you have today I'm gonna show you how to do it with soy beans because that is the more traditional of course I have them pre soaked overnight just make sure that it's submerged in water lots of lots of water also note that you don't have to refrigerate it when you are soaking them it can just lay out in your counter at room temperature and that's totally fine this is a dry bean then this is the soaked beans they expand a lot so first thing I'm going to drain my soaked joy beans then I like to it always like give it a quick rinse two cups of soybeans to four cups of water and I'm using room temperature water then we're just gonna blend this really fine so you want it to be really really well blended use a large pot larger than you think you need it's just safety you know we're gonna cook this and when it comes to a boil we're gonna lower it and then simmer it for 15 minutes the foam is kind of like coming up that's what you want to see comes to a boil you see that it kind of like Rises when it foams up like that you want to lower it to a very low simmer you're slowly cooking them you're babying them you're giving them your love you know you can just chill you know be super Zen you smoke some weed my soy bean mixture is ready to strain cheesecloth you guys is key I'd like to double strain with the cheesecloth and the xinhua to ensure like a super milky smooth soymilk there is your fresh soymilk get a ladle gently press and want all that beautiful sweet milk would you squeeze out all the school milk you get this soy thing leftover this is called PG in the Korean in Korea there's a thing called EGCG I mix it with like pork belly and kimchi and and some water and then you bring it up to a boil and that's soup and you eat that with rice it reminds me of my grandma she used to make this all the time it was like one of my favorite soups and even now I crave it like constantly this is my favorite part of tofu making I love the leftover making soup with it tear fresh soy milk going back into a pot or you don't have to use like a large pot for this so before we heat our soy milk up we have to make the coagulant additionally you'll use something called a Nagari which is magnesium chloride alpha tablespoon of any khari I'm gonna use two tablespoons of hot water during this step you are heating up your soy milk about like three to four minutes you want to gently bring it up you don't want to put it on full blast because you do not want this mixture to boil we're trying to hit a temperature of like 165 ish and then that's when you will add your coagulant like slowly make sure it's in there while incorporating but don't like go crazy mixing it just like a slow sir and then just cover it and we'll wait about ten minutes let it all kind of come together the kimchi salad is not fermented I have celery and Napa that I have salted for about half an hour and then you rinse it and then you squeeze it out and you'll get something like this it's our chopped garlic go to treating ginger chili flakes this is kochu karu but you can use whatever chili flakes you have fish sauce some vinegar a little bit of acid sesame oil at home because it sesame seeds and just a little bit of sugar to balance it out so basically you're just putting it into this tofu mold and straining out the liquid so like at this stage just a silken tofu and then when you press it that's when you get like two different stages so if you want like very firm tofu then you want to put like a lot of weight on top you don't have to use the tofu mold you can just use like a regular strainer this goes on top and then at this point I'm gonna put some weight on here there we go around ten minutes you'll get like a firm tofu block if you want to get it more firm can always press it for longer tofu is out of the mold and I just submerged it in some cold water and in chores like the nice beautiful block soak it for at least 30 minutes before serving it the fresh tofu will keep in the fridge for about three to five days maybe up to a week you want to make sure that you store it in water that's super important it's not gonna last that long you're gonna want to eat it right away that beautiful tofu oh my gosh if I might smell the fresh soybean it's the best part the kimchi salad here we go oh my god a beautiful to fruit mm-hmm sometimes when you eat tofu a store-bought kind of like doesn't really have much taste right I think that's why a lot of people don't like tofu because it kind of can be bland but this is not bland it's like packed with flavor and the texture is like amazing like super smooth I just knew you want more bite because mmm everyone has beans in their pantry and if you want to try something different make fresh tofu it's super easy man I wish you to taste us you will because you're gonna make this recipe I used a smaller pot it was a show the soybeans exploded on my stove it took me like two hours to clean my stovetop you don't understand how stressed out I would i was so livid oh my god what a nightmare do not make that mistake use a large pottoday I'm gonna show you how to make tofu baby Miss Esther toy I am the chef and owner of mock bar and miss you in New York City tofu is amazing you only need one major ingredient any dried beans that you have today I'm gonna show you how to do it with soy beans because that is the more traditional of course I have them pre soaked overnight just make sure that it's submerged in water lots of lots of water also note that you don't have to refrigerate it when you are soaking them it can just lay out in your counter at room temperature and that's totally fine this is a dry bean then this is the soaked beans they expand a lot so first thing I'm going to drain my soaked joy beans then I like to it always like give it a quick rinse two cups of soybeans to four cups of water and I'm using room temperature water then we're just gonna blend this really fine so you want it to be really really well blended use a large pot larger than you think you need it's just safety you know we're gonna cook this and when it comes to a boil we're gonna lower it and then simmer it for 15 minutes the foam is kind of like coming up that's what you want to see comes to a boil you see that it kind of like Rises when it foams up like that you want to lower it to a very low simmer you're slowly cooking them you're babying them you're giving them your love you know you can just chill you know be super Zen you smoke some weed my soy bean mixture is ready to strain cheesecloth you guys is key I'd like to double strain with the cheesecloth and the xinhua to ensure like a super milky smooth soymilk there is your fresh soymilk get a ladle gently press and want all that beautiful sweet milk would you squeeze out all the school milk you get this soy thing leftover this is called PG in the Korean in Korea there's a thing called EGCG I mix it with like pork belly and kimchi and and some water and then you bring it up to a boil and that's soup and you eat that with rice it reminds me of my grandma she used to make this all the time it was like one of my favorite soups and even now I crave it like constantly this is my favorite part of tofu making I love the leftover making soup with it tear fresh soy milk going back into a pot or you don't have to use like a large pot for this so before we heat our soy milk up we have to make the coagulant additionally you'll use something called a Nagari which is magnesium chloride alpha tablespoon of any khari I'm gonna use two tablespoons of hot water during this step you are heating up your soy milk about like three to four minutes you want to gently bring it up you don't want to put it on full blast because you do not want this mixture to boil we're trying to hit a temperature of like 165 ish and then that's when you will add your coagulant like slowly make sure it's in there while incorporating but don't like go crazy mixing it just like a slow sir and then just cover it and we'll wait about ten minutes let it all kind of come together the kimchi salad is not fermented I have celery and Napa that I have salted for about half an hour and then you rinse it and then you squeeze it out and you'll get something like this it's our chopped garlic go to treating ginger chili flakes this is kochu karu but you can use whatever chili flakes you have fish sauce some vinegar a little bit of acid sesame oil at home because it sesame seeds and just a little bit of sugar to balance it out so basically you're just putting it into this tofu mold and straining out the liquid so like at this stage just a silken tofu and then when you press it that's when you get like two different stages so if you want like very firm tofu then you want to put like a lot of weight on top you don't have to use the tofu mold you can just use like a regular strainer this goes on top and then at this point I'm gonna put some weight on here there we go around ten minutes you'll get like a firm tofu block if you want to get it more firm can always press it for longer tofu is out of the mold and I just submerged it in some cold water and in chores like the nice beautiful block soak it for at least 30 minutes before serving it the fresh tofu will keep in the fridge for about three to five days maybe up to a week you want to make sure that you store it in water that's super important it's not gonna last that long you're gonna want to eat it right away that beautiful tofu oh my gosh if I might smell the fresh soybean it's the best part the kimchi salad here we go oh my god a beautiful to fruit mm-hmm sometimes when you eat tofu a store-bought kind of like doesn't really have much taste right I think that's why a lot of people don't like tofu because it kind of can be bland but this is not bland it's like packed with flavor and the texture is like amazing like super smooth I just knew you want more bite because mmm everyone has beans in their pantry and if you want to try something different make fresh tofu it's super easy man I wish you to taste us you will because you're gonna make this recipe I used a smaller pot it was a show the soybeans exploded on my stove it took me like two hours to clean my stovetop you don't understand how stressed out I would i was so livid oh my god what a nightmare do not make that mistake use a large pot\n"