Tofu cheese is a very rich vegetable protein product. It is very popular in Asian cuisine. Many vegetarians use it as a meat substitute. This cheese can be made at home. But, for those who don’t want to bother with soy milk, you can now buy ready-made tofu in every major supermarket.
Depending on the cooking technology, there are three types of tofu:
Silk (soft). This type of tofu contains the most moisture. And in its consistency this product is more reminiscent of custard or pudding. In China they add to this soft cheese green onions, chili peppers and even shrimp. The mixture obtained in this way is an excellent snack.
Linen (hard). This tofu has some of its moisture removed during the manufacturing process. But, unlike dry cheese, its consistency is much softer. The structure of firm tofu is similar to meat. And it is this type of soy cheese that is most often used in cooking.
Dry. When producing this type of tofu, moisture is removed from the product using pressure. The structure of this product is similar to regular cheese. But, unlike it, it crumbles when cut.
How to make tofu cheese at home? Instructions
- Tofu cheese is very important in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cooking. high place. Surprisingly, there is no consensus on the origin of this product. Today, tofu is prepared in the same way as it was many years ago. And you can do this even at home
- Tofu is made from soybeans. They are boiled and pressed to extract milk. It is the soy milk obtained and purified from solid inclusions that is the main ingredient of tofu cheese. A special substance (coagulant) is added to milk. Under its action, flocculent parts are formed in soy milk. They are separated from the liquid and, depending on the type of tofu, pressed or simply laid out in molds
- Making tofu at home is quite difficult for two reasons. First: soybeans are sold quite rarely in supermarkets. Second: technology requires careful adherence to all actions. Therefore, it is best to use ready-made tofu in your recipes. But, if you are interested in making this product yourself, you can try
Preparing soy milk
To do this, you need to fill soybeans (1 kg) with water and keep them in this form for 24 hours. In this case, the water needs to be changed 2-3 times. Soybeans have a plant-like flavor. To do this, to remove it, you need to add a couple of pinches of salt to the water in which they are soaked.
The swollen soybeans need to be washed and turned into minced meat using a meat grinder. Fill it with water (3 l) and let it brew for 4 hours. Once an hour, the soy mince diluted in water needs to be stirred.
Using a colander, separate the soy milk from the remaining beans. It can be used not only to make tofu, but also as a healthy ingredient in many drinks and cocktails. Soy milk can be consumed by people who have allergic reactions to cow's milk.
Soy Milk Tofu Recipe
To prepare tofu you need to take 1 liter of soy milk. Heat it to a boil, turn off the heat and leave on the stove for 5 minutes. Then squeeze lemon juice (1 piece) into the milk. Gradually stir the mass until it is completely curdled.
Strain the curdled milk and squeeze excess moisture. If the goal is hard soy cheese, then after squeezing out the moisture, the resulting mass is placed under a press.
Soy Flour Tofu Recipe
Since soybeans are rarely sold, soy flour is increasingly being used to make homemade tofu. It (1 tbsp.) is mixed with cold water(1 tbsp.). Then pour boiling water (2 tbsp) and mix. The resulting mass should be cooked for 10-15 minutes. Then lemon juice is added to this “milk”. Next, everything needs to be done as indicated above.
Tofu cheese is a unique and versatile product. It can be used as an ingredient in main dishes as well as sweet desserts. Tofu is used to make soups and casseroles, it is fried and even used for steaming dishes.
IMPORTANT: Tofu contains 10% protein, which includes all amino acids essential for humans. This is why it is so popular among vegetarians. This product is well absorbed by the stomach. It contains practically no fats and carbohydrates.
Recipes for cooking with tofu
This curd cheese has a neutral taste. But, it has one wonderful feature. It absorbs the smell and taste of the products with which it “adjacents” in one dish. Since this curd cheese came to us from Asian countries, it is often supplemented with various spices and seasonings. This allows it to acquire amazing flavors.
Pineapple salad with tofu
Cut tofu (300 g) into small cubes. We put them in a salad bowl. Place pineapple (300 g) on top, cut into squares similar to cheese. You can use either fresh or canned pineapple in this salad. Shred cabbage (150 g). Add salt to it. Thanks to this, it will become soft and juicy. Grate carrots (100 g) on a fine grater and mix them with chopped peanuts (1/2 cup). Add these ingredients to the tofu and pineapple. Add sour cream and mix.
Thai tofu soup
Add cilantro (2 stalks), ginger (2 pieces), garlic (1 clove) and red capsicum (1 piece) to the vegetable broth. Bring the broth to a boil, cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 25 minutes.
Marinate tofu (100 g) in soy sauce (2 tablespoons) for 25 minutes. Cook the noodles (50 g) and place them on 4 plates. Strain the broth into a clean saucepan. Add carrots (2 pcs.), fresh champignons (100 g), tofu in soy sauce and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Place tofu and vegetables in bowls with noodles. Pour lemon juice and decorate with herbs.
Buckwheat noodles with eggs and tofu cheese
Buckwheat soba noodles will give you a 100 point head start over regular wheat noodles. It contains less gluten and therefore is almost completely absorbed by the body.
Boil eggs (2 pcs.) hard-boiled. Cook buckwheat noodles (500 g) for a minute less than indicated on its packaging and rinse with cold water. Fry red onion (1 head) cut into half rings in a wok pan. For this purpose it is better to use Sesame oil. Add rice vinegar (50 g), cane sugar (1 tbsp), soy sauce (2 tbsp) to the onion and simmer for a minute over low heat.
Chop the eggs as for Olivier salad. Transfer the noodles to the pan and mix with soy sauce. After this, add tofu (100 g), chili peppers cut into rings (1 pc.) and eggs. Mix everything again and serve.
How to make delicious fried tofu?
As you can see, tofu cheese can be used to prepare various dishes. Many people like this product fried. There are several ways to fry tofu. They will be listed below.
Tofu cheese fried in a frying pan with onions and garlic
Heat in a frying pan vegetable oil(1-2 tbsp.). Finely chop the onion (1 piece) and pass the garlic (1 clove) through a press. Fry these products in oil.
Place tofu (200 g - 300 g) cut into squares into a frying pan with onions and garlic. Fry and add spices and thyme. Mix. The readiness of the tofu is determined by the golden crust that covers the cheese on all sides.
How to fry breaded tofu
Prepare the marinade sauce. Pour soy sauce (50 ml) and freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 pc.) into a container. Add red (0.5 teaspoon) and black pepper (0.5 teaspoon), cilantro (2 branches), ground coriander (0.5 teaspoon), chopped garlic (2-3 cloves) and finely chopped cucumber (1 pc.). Mix the products and add tofu (500 g) to the marinade for 10 minutes.
Then cut the cheese into rectangular pieces. Salt and roll in flour. Fry in vegetable oil until golden brown on both sides.
Battered tofu recipe
Cut the curd cheese (400 g) into small slices. We dilute the flour with beer (0.25 cups), add butter (1 tablespoon) and vodka (1 tablespoon). Mix and add 2 beaten egg whites.
Dip tofu slices in batter and fry until golden brown.
Appetizer of tofu, chestnuts and vegetables
To prepare this original dish You need to mix all the ingredients in a food processor. They should be served on lettuce leaves.
Ingredients:
- Tofu cheese – 150 g
- Chopped white cabbage – 0.5 cup
- Carrots, grated – 0.5 cup
- Canned culinary chestnuts (sliced) – 115 g
- Green onion (finely chopped) - 1/8 cup
- Fresh cilantro (chopped) - 1 tbsp. l.
- Asian chili sauce - 1/5 cup
- Fresh lime juice – 0.5 tbsp. l
- Lettuce leaves - 4 pcs.
Use a paper towel to remove excess moisture from the tofu. Place in a bowl food processor cheese, cabbage, carrots, chestnuts, green onions and cilantro. Grind and mix the ingredients until smooth. Transfer them to a large frying pan.
Add chili sauce and lime juice to the chopped products. Place the pan on low heat and heat for 1-2 minutes. Mix and spread the mixture onto the lettuce leaves, wrap them in a roll and fasten them with wooden skewers. Serve to the table.
Tofu soy sauce recipe
Tofu is often used in cooking as a base for various sauces. Such sauces can be included in various dishes, enriching their taste. Mild soy cheese is suitable for making this sauce. This product can be used in pure form(without additives) or with the addition of paprika.
Ingredients:
- Tender tofu – 100 g
- Olive oil EV - 3 tbsp.
- White wine vinegar - 2 tbsp.
- Sugar - 1 tsp.
- Mustard – 25 g
- Soy sauce - 3 tbsp.
- Garlic cloves - 1 pc.
- Ground black pepper - 0.5 tsp.
Place chopped garlic and mustard in a blender bowl. Add soy sauce and mix at low speed. Add sugar, black pepper, olive oil and tofu. Mix until smooth at medium speed. Taste the sauce. If necessary, you can add sugar or salt.
This tofu sauce can be combined with fresh vegetables and spread on bread. Store the sauce in a closed jar in the refrigerator.
Smoothie with pomegranate juice and tofu
Making a tofu smoothie Healthy smoothies can be made not only from vegetables, fruits and oatmeal. You can make a delicious and healthy smoothie by mixing the following ingredients with tofu cheese in a blender bowl.
Products:
- Tofu (shredded) - 1/3 cup
- Any berries - 1 cup
- Pomegranate juice - 1/2 cup
- Honey - 1-2 tsp.
- Ice cubes - 1/3 cup
This drink can not only saturate your body useful substances, but also to quench your thirst in the summer heat.
Tofu Pie Recipe
There are quite a few recipes for baking with soy cheese in Asian cuisines. But this recipe is still closer to the European one, or rather to Italian cuisine. And most likely the original pie used Mozzarella. But why not make an open tofu pie like this?
Ingredients for the dough:
- Flour - 250 g
- Cream - 100 g
- Butter - 70 g
- Baking powder - 0.5 tsp.
- a pinch of salt
For filling:
- tofu - 150 g
- cream - 150 g
- eggs – 2 pcs.
- hard cheese – 70 g
- mushrooms to taste
- seasoning (Italian herbs blend works best for this recipe)
- fresh herbs
- ground black pepper
- vegetable oil for frying
Preparing an open tofu pie:
Mix the dough. Sift the flour several times, saturating it with oxygen. Add baking powder, salt and vegetable oil. Grind the flour into crumbs. Add cream and knead the dough. Then put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
For the filling, you need to cut the mushrooms into small pieces and fry them in vegetable oil. During frying, mushrooms need to be salted and peppered. Cut the tofu into cubes and chop the greens. Grate the cheese on a fine grater. Mix eggs, cream and grated cheese into a homogeneous mass.
Lubricate round shape vegetable oil. Place the dough evenly in it. We make the sides. Place mushrooms and tofu on the dough. Sprinkle them with herbs and herbs. Pour in cream cheese sauce and bake in the oven.
Cheesecake with pumpkin and tofu
To prepare this dessert you will need soy cheese, pumpkin and cookies. Since this recipe was found on a vegan forum, even strict vegetarians can use it. At the same time, the taste of this cheesecake was practically not affected by this “processing”.
Ingredients:
- Cookie crumbs - 1 kg
- Any vegetable oil suitable for sweet baking – 50 g
- Water – 2-3 glasses
For the first layer of cream:
- Tofu – 200 g
- Sugar – ½ cup
- Corn starch - 2-3 tbsp. spoons
- Lemon juice - 1.5 tbsp. l.
- Vanillin
For the second layer of cream:
- Tofu -300 gr.
- Pumpkin puree - 1/2 cup
- Sugar - 3 tbsp. l.
- Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp.
- Ginger - 1/4 tsp.
- fresh nutmeg, grated - 1/4 tsp.
- nut or coffee liqueur 1 tbsp. l.
Making vegan cheesecake:
- Mix the crushed cookies with butter. You can add a little water. You should get a dough-like mass. If you choose not very sweet cookies, you can add sugar to them. Place the prepared mixture on the bottom of the mold.
- Preparing the cream for the first layer. Blend tofu, cornstarch, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in a blender. Spread the mixture onto the cookie crust
- Blend the ingredients for the pumpkin cream in a blender. Pour them over the first layer. It is important to take into account that when baking the cream will rise by several centimeters. Therefore, when pouring the cream into the mold, you need to leave at least 5 cm from the edge of the side
- Bake this cheesecake in the oven at 190 degrees for 50-60 minutes. In order to be sure that it is ready, you need to check the degree of baking with a toothpick. If the cream does not stick to it, then the dessert can be removed from the oven.
- This cheesecake recipe is quite versatile. Pumpkin puree can be replaced with apple, orange or pear. You can diversify the taste by adding nuts, raisins, chocolate or candied fruits to the cream
Maria. My “signature” recipe is stuffed soy cheese cubes. I fry them and remove the centers. I fill it with minced pork or shrimp. For my vegetarian friends I use vegetables instead of meat.
Kate. Tofu is a very tasty product. But, this is if you know how to cook it correctly. Unfortunately, I didn’t succeed at first and I completely forgot about this cheese. But then gradually I began to include it in my menu again. At first I added it to salads. Then I started frying it with spices. I experimented with flavors. Now this product is fried in nori leaves with the addition of various seasonings. It turns out very tasty.
Video. Homemade soy milk and tofu recipe
, ...And tofu cheese deserves special attention among the Asian innovations that have entered our diet. This is not just a delicate product that exquisitely sets off and emphasizes the tastes of other dishes, but also a storehouse of benefits for the body and perfect solution for vegetarians. Try making tofu cheese at home, and who knows, maybe you will join the army of admirers asian cuisine.
Composition of tofu cheese
First, you need to understand how tofu cheese differs from all other ordinary well-known varieties, like, etc.
- First of all, of course, the difference in composition. Tofu is a soy-based product. In other words, instead of the usual cow's milk Soy milk is used for its preparation.
- Another ingredient is a sourdough coagulant. IN Asian countries calcium sulfate or sea salts However, for making homemade tofu cheese with your own hands, ordinary lemon juice is also quite suitable.
Soy cheese tofu: benefits, harm, calories
Tofu is a great helper for people who want to eat healthy.
- This is not surprising, because this Asian cheese is a storehouse of iron, calcium, fiber, as well as a huge amount of amino acids, minerals and B vitamins necessary for the body.
- Anyone who has decided to switch to vegetarianism should include this product in their diet, because tofu soy cheese is one of the best sources of high-quality protein of non-animal origin (about 10 g of protein per 100 g).
- In addition, this cheese is a great find for people suffering from heart and intestinal diseases. It is easily absorbed by the body, so it is suitable for weak stomachs, and also does not contain cholesterol, which will be a gift for patients with cardiovascular systems.
- Well, representatives of the fair sex who watch their figure should also pay attention to this product. The calorie content of tofu cheese is only 76 kcal per 100 g. Most of this comes from high-quality protein, and the rest from healthy fats. It contains practically no carbohydrates at all.
But despite everything positive traits of this product, as with any other thing, it is important to know when to stop. Excessive consumption may weaken sperm concentration in men and may also adversely affect the health of infants and pregnant women. In addition, an excess of this delicacy can have a bad effect on the endocrine system, especially for people who already have health problems in this area. Be smart in your use and this product will not harm you.
How to eat tofu?
Since this product may seem specific to many, it is worth mentioning separately how best to eat it.
This appetizer is almost tasteless, so eating it just like regular cheese is unlikely to give you pleasure. But there are many dishes in which this soy curd, when added, acquires a wide variety of gastronomic shades, while emphasizing the tastes of other ingredients.
It goes well with almost all foods: vegetables, fruits, meat, sweet, salty, sour... You can cook with it various salads, you can fry and bake it with spices, add it to soups...
It’s good to have this cheese on the shelf in the refrigerator if you like Asian dishes: it is a component for many of them. For example, it can be used for or, recipes for which have already been described on this site, as well as for many other Eastern dishes.
Homemade tofu cheese
To be honest, it is easier to buy tofu at the store than to make it yourself. The cooking process, although challenging, is quite cumbersome, and in large supermarkets 1 kg of soy cheese can be purchased for only 300 rubles.
However, if you always want to have homemade cheese If you have tofu on hand, prepared with love, with your own hands, then, of course, you should definitely read the instructions for preparing this product and make it yourself.
There are two recipes for tofu cheese. The first option will make your life much easier, because it only requires soy milk and citric acid. In this case, cooking will not be difficult for you. However, if for some reason you cannot buy soy milk, or you simply decide to take a more complete recipe for the product in order to make the cheese absolutely homemade, which is called “from scratch,” then you will need to prepare soy milk yourself. This is exactly the version of the tofu cheese recipe that we bring to your attention.
Preparing soy milk for tofu cheese
Ingredients for making soy milk:
- Soybeans – 1 kg;
- Soda – 2 pinches;
- Water – 2.5 l.
Step-by-step diagram for preparing soy milk:
- Fill a kilogram of soybeans with water so that it completely covers the grain, and leave to brew for a day.
- Add a couple of pinches of soda to the water to get rid of the herbal taste;
- Change the water to fresh water a couple of times;
- After a day, rinse the swollen beans and pass through a meat grinder;
- Pour the resulting slurry with 2.5 liters of water and let it brew for 3-4 hours;
- All that remains is to strain the mixture using a colander and several layers of cheesecloth, and you will get excellent, healthy, vegetarian soy milk, which we need to make tofu.
Cooking tofu cheese
Required ingredients for tofu:
- Soy milk – 1 l;
- Lemon juice – 2 tbsp. l.
Step-by-step instructions for making tofu cheese at home:
- Pour soy milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil;
- As soon as the milk boils, immediately turn it off and let it simmer under the lid for about 5 minutes. Ideally, it should be 80-85oC;
- Add 2 large spoons to the prepared milk lemon juice and stir the mass until it completely folds;
- Leave the mixture to sit under the lid for another 5-10 minutes;
- Strain the resulting mass through gauze folded several times;
- Place the remaining curd into a bowl, depending on the shape of your future “dish.” Place a press on top of the mixture. Its weight will determine what kind of cheese you get: denser or softer;
- After an hour, your soy milk cheese is ready to eat!
Try making delicious, healthy, vegetarian, low-calorie soy cheese from Asia. Such an unusual addition to familiar dishes will undoubtedly diversify your diet and delight your household.
Video: Homemade Soy Milk and Tofu Recipe
Today we’ll talk about how to make tofu cheese at home, it turns out it’s easy and simple. In the previous article, we took a closer look at tofu cheese and learned about its beneficial qualities.
Tofu cheese is not sold everywhere, so let's make it ourselves, with our own hands. Your refrigerator will always have fresh and healthy cheese tofu.
In order to prepare soy cheese, we need soy milk; if you are too lazy to prepare milk, use soy flour.
Tofu cheese - cook at home
Soy milk recipe
Fill 1 kg of soybeans with water and leave for 24 hours. We change the water 2-3 times.
To remove the grassy taste, add a couple of pinches of soda to the water. To make less milk, use less soybeans.
We wash the swollen beans and pass them through a meat grinder twice. Fill with three liters of water, stir and let stand for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally.
We take a large colander, put cheesecloth in it and strain, we get soy “milk”. 
Soy milk is great for preparing a variety of drinks and cocktails, you can cook porridge and baked goods on it. For people who are allergic to real milk, soy milk can be an excellent substitute. Today, as promised, we will prepare tofu soy cheese or unpressed cottage cheese.
Tofu cheese recipe
Take 1 liter of milk and 1 lemon.
Heat the milk to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes, remove from the heat and squeeze lemon juice into it, gradually stirring until completely curdled.
Lemon can be replaced with citric acid; for 1 liter of milk, take 0.5 teaspoon of acid and dissolve it in 50 ml of water.
Gradually pour into hot milk and stir until melted.
Strain the curdled milk and squeeze out the curd. If you want to get a dense cheese, put a piece of the pressed mass under something heavy (do not remove the cheese from the gauze until it is compressed), then take out the tofu cheese and cut it, add it to salads and other dishes.
Place the remaining cheese in salted water, put it in the refrigerator, this way it will stay fresh for 5 days. You can simply freeze it, after defrosting it will become denser.
If you want to make a softer cheese, follow these steps.
Cool the boiled milk to 30-40 degrees and then add acid to it, the cheese will be softer and more tender.
Recipe for making tofu cheese from soy flour
Mix 1 cup soy flour with 1 cup cold water, pour in 2 cups of boiling water and stir vigorously. Place on low heat and cook for 10-15 minutes, remove from heat and add citric acid as in the previous recipe.
Strain and squeeze, you get a curd mass with a neutral taste.
This is how easy it is to make tofu soy cheese at home. You will always have your cheese on hand.
And now a few recipes with tofu cheese.
Salad with peppers and tomatoes and tofu
- 300g tofu cheese
- 3 tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper
- Lettuce leaves
- Greenery
- Ground black pepper
- Onion head
- Olive oil for dressing
We cut the cheese into cubes, tomatoes into small slices, pepper into strips, tear lettuce leaves with our hands, cut the onion into thin half rings. Mix everything, salt, pepper and add chopped herbs. It turns out to be a very tasty and satisfying salad.
Fish salad with tofu cheese
- 300g boiled fish
- 200g tofu cheese
- 1 onion
Probably not every housewife knows how to make tofu soy cheese at home, since this cheese is not often found in our diet. This product is made from soybeans and contains a lot of proteins. This cheese is loved by vegetarians, people who watch their figure and stick to a diet. Its taste is neutral, which makes it possible to use it in cooking, which is why tofu recipes are so varied. Fried tofu can be deep-fried, steamed, or marinated. Tofu makes delicious first and second courses, sauces, desserts, and various snacks. The cooking process is simple, the main thing is to be patient, as it will take a lot of time. The longest part of cooking is preparing the soybeans themselves, actually soaking them.
Soy cheese Tofu recipe at home
A step-by-step photo recipe will show you how to first make soy milk, make bean curd from it, and then make tofu cheese based on it.
Required ingredients:
Ingredients:
- Soy 300 g
- Citric acid 1 tsp.
- Water 1.8 l
Cooking process:
So let's get started. Before soaking, inspect the soybeans and remove any debris or bad grains. Rinse thoroughly in running water. Place in a deep container, fill with cold water and leave for one day (24 hours). To prevent the soybean from turning sour during this time, change the water from time to time, rinse the soybean and again fill it with cold water.
After soaking for a day, the beans had increased in size. Drain in a colander and rinse thoroughly. Let it drain excess water.
Scroll the soybeans through a meat grinder about 2-3 times and place in a saucepan.
Pour in the amount of cold water indicated in the recipe. Stir and leave at room temperature for 5 hours. Every 30-40 minutes, mix thoroughly so that the soybean cake completely releases the milk.
Now you need thick fabric. Do not use gauze, as it will allow pieces of cake to pass through. Cover thick fabric colander. Discard the cake with liquid. Squeeze carefully so that the soy mixture does not get into the milk. You can make soy cutlets from the cake.
Pour the soy milk into a saucepan. Send it to the fire. Stirring, bring to a boil.
Dissolve citric acid in two tablespoons of boiled water at room temperature. As soon as the vegetable soy milk boils, reduce the heat and, stirring, pour in the citric acid solution. Keep on low heat until flakes form. Once the curds have formed, remove the pan from the heat.
Gather the edges to the top and tie them into a knot. Hang it so that all the whey drips off. Do not keep it for a long time so as not to dry out the cottage cheese, about an hour is enough.
You can stop at this step if your goal is to prepare a sauce or cream.
If you want to get a dense cheese for cutting into cubes, preparing salads, frying or other dishes, you need to place the tofu in cheesecloth and put a small weight on top. Leave for several hours so that the cheese is well compressed.
Tofu cheese is ready at home. Store it in the refrigerator, first wrapped in paper, for up to five days. Bon appetit!
Svetlana told how to make tofu cheese at home, recipe and photo by the author.
Tofu has been prepared by chefs in Asia since ancient times. IN Lately it has gained popularity all over the world. A highly digestible, easy-on-the-stomach, low-calorie product, it is widely used as an independent dish and as an imitation of other products. Useful product You can do it yourself, but you will need to carefully follow all the nuances of the technology.
Several options on how to cook Tofu
Culinary specialists highlight various options preparing a popular product:
- Soft, or silk. The finished dish has maximum moisture. The consistency is similar to pudding or thick cream. The Chinese season it with spices, herbs and chopped seafood - it makes an excellent snack.
- Solid, or linen. Some of the liquid is squeezed out in linen bags until the consistency begins to resemble meat. Widely used in the preparation of various imitations.
- Dry. The product is squeezed out until maximum liquid is removed. The structure resembles but, it crumbles when cut.
In regions and countries where Tofu is popular, recipes vary. The ingredients and main stages of the process remain common.
Soy cheese Tofu: homemade recipe
In China, Korea, Japan and other Asian countries, many housewives make your own bean curd. The older women in every family teach the girls from childhood how to make the popular traditional product. Despite the apparent simplicity of most recipes, making it yourself is not so easy. The cook needs to carefully follow everything. If cheese is an ingredient in more complex dishes, it is easier to purchase ready-made cheese in the store.
A popular product is made from soybean grains (beans). They need to be boiled and crushed to extract the milk. After milk purification from cake and other impurities it will be the main thing integral part future product. After adding the coagulant, the composition coagulates and forms flakes. They need to be separated from the liquid, placed in molds or pressed.
Preparation of soy milk
First you need to pour a kilogram of beans with salted water and put in a dark place for a day. Every 8-12 hours you should drain the liquid and fill it with fresh one. Salt will help cut out the vegetal taste of the beans.
After the beans have swollen, they need to be washed and grind in a meat grinder. It is better to take a grate that is medium in diameter of the holes. The resulting mass must be poured three liters of water and leave for 4 hours. The mixture should be thoroughly mixed every hour.
Next, you need to drain the mixture in a colander to get rid of the bean cake. The liquid that drains from the colander will be soy milk. It can be used as a milk replacer for people with a sensitive gastrointestinal tract.
Soy Milk Tofu Recipe
To make tofu cheese at home, pour a liter of soy milk into a saucepan, boil, remove from heat and let stand within five minutes. Next, squeeze the juice from one lemon into the container. You need to add juice little by little, stirring thoroughly mixture until it curdles and characteristic flakes fall out. Next, the resulting mass is filtered through several layers of gauze or flag fabric. Excess liquid need to be squeezed out. Make soybean curd. If you plan to make a hard type of cheese, you need to squeeze the curd under pressure.
Soy Flour Tofu Recipe
Since soybean grains are not always available, tofu is often used to make cheese at home. soybean flour. A glass of flour is diluted in a glass of cold water until a homogeneous paste is formed. Next, the composition is diluted with two glasses hot water, stir thoroughly and, after boiling, cook for 10-15 minutes. After removing from the stove, add the juice of one lemon to the container. After curdling and the flakes fall out, the composition is filtered and, if necessary, squeezed out.
Ingredients
For Tofu cheese, the recipes differ in detail, but they are all similar in terms of components. For self-made The following products will be required:
- Soybeans – 300 kg.
- Citric acid 1 teaspoon (can be replaced with the juice of one medium lemon).
- Water 1.8 liters.
You will also need two saucepans with a capacity at least 3 liters, slotted spoon for stirring, measuring cup, colander, cheesecloth or flag cloth for straining. If you plan to make dry cheese, you will also need a press and two molds for it.
For many vegetarian and vegan recipes, tofu is a desirable ingredient because, being... 100% plant-based, it can imitate various animal products.
Cooking process
Allow the water to drain completely.
Soy milk is ready. Now it's your turn the cheese itself.
- Rinse the filter cloth thoroughly.
- Bring filtered milk to a boil, stirring regularly.
- Dilute citric acid in 50 ml of warm boiled water.
- After boiling, reduce heat to low and pour in citric acid evenly.
- Stirring, keep on low heat until curdling (formation of flakes).
- Remove the pan from the stove.
- Drain the mixture in a colander with filter cloth.
- Connect the corners of the fabric and tie.
- Hang the bundle over the container. Leave for up to an hour until completely drained serum.
The preparation of cottage cheese for sauce or cream is completed. Appetizers, soups, hot dishes and desserts are prepared with it.
In order to obtain a denser product, cut into cubes for salads or for frying, the mass should be wrapped in cheesecloth and placed under slight pressure. In a couple of hours, the mass will be well compressed and will be molded. To make it more tasty, you can add finely chopped herbs, spices or crushed nuts to the mixture.
If you need a dry version, the mass should be placed in a mold with holes and placed under a press. for 4-6 hours.
Soy cheese Tofu can be no more than 5 days.
