Making your own soy milk allows you to control unwanted additives as well as the quality of the soy beans. It’s very economical and relatively easy, however because beans require soaking, it does need planning. From homemade soy milk, you can also make your own yogurt, creamy cheese spread, and tofu. Furthermore, you will have left over pulp, called okara, which can be used in tasty recipes (see links at the bottom of the page)
Yield: 4 cups soy milk (with about ¾ cup left over pulp)
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry soy beans, (85 g/3 oz)
- 2 cups water for soaking
- 4 cups water for blending
Instructions
- Sort through and remove discoloured and damaged beans then soak soy beans overnight (10-12 hours), or in refrigerator for as long as 2 days. When soaking longer than overnight, replace the soaking water with fresh water daily.
- Discard soaking water and rinse the soy beans. Add soy beans and 4 cups fresh water to blender. Blend just until smooth.
- Pour mixture into a pot, while stirring occasionally, bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Allow to cool, then strain mixture through a cotton tea towel*. After straining bring the corners of the tea towel up to form a bag; twist and squeeze the bag to make more milk drain out.
- Pour soymilk into pitcher/jar with lid and keep in refrigerator. Use within 4 days.
- To make soy yogurt check out this link.
- To make tofu at home check out this two part video by Andrea Nguyen author to Making Soy Milk and Tofu at Home. Part one demonstrates how to make soy milk and part two demonstrates how to turn fresh made soy milk into tofu.
Additional Information
- Make sure beans have been soaked long enough. Refer to photo. The beans should split open easily and reveal even colored creamy centers. If the centers are dark, then the beans need to be soaked longer.
- Use a heavy bottom pot for even heat distribution and to prevent scorching. Take care as when mixture comes to boil, it will quickly overflow the pot.
- Cotton tea towels or reusable unbleached cotton soy bean milk bags. Soy bean milk bags can be found at Asian markets. Before straining the milk, rinse the tea towel/bag with fresh water and wring it out. This will increase the milk yield as this step prevents the soy milk being absorbed into the fabric.
Okara
Okara is the left over pulp from the soybeans. It has a neutral flavor and a fine flaky texture which is rich in calcium, protein and fiber. If not used within a few days, it can be frozen and for 3 to 4 months. Okara can be used to add body to soups, casseroles, vegetable dishes, stir fry’s, as well as in baking. It can also be made into a soy protein powder. Simply dry the pulp in a dehydrator then blend into a powder.
When using the okara in the recipes below ensure the pulp has very little moisture in it. To achieve this, I strain my soy milk through an unbleached cotton soy bean milk bag, then I wring it out.