Tofu making - the ins and outs
Had a funny experience tonight. Tetsuya was making tofu. He wanted to do it the old way starting from soaking the beans etc. OK, very well.
The beans were soaked from last night so he ground them and cooked them and made the soy milk. That was great. The soy milk doesn't taste like what you buy at a supermarket where oil and all other kinds of things are added. It tasted OK - well, like soy milk should.
But then came the problem.
To make tofu you have to add a coagulent to the soy milk. Modern manufacturers add chemicals but purists (like us) use nigari, a deep sea salt, Magnesium Chloride. When Tets added it it didn't work. Turns out it was out of date. So ... he added some more. Still no coagulation. So more.
Of course i didn't know that so I came in and tasted it. Well, I have not tasted many things as vile as that. It was horrid. Imagine soy milk mixed with a lot of sea water and you'll get close. Turns out the nigari had lost it's 'nigari-ness'.
Oh well. Back to the drawing board.
It just shows you that there is a lot of work behind the scenes to make a successful product and (fortunately) most people only see something after we have tried it out sometimes quite a few times. But the end result is worth it.
But it tasted vile. Watch this space :-)
The beans were soaked from last night so he ground them and cooked them and made the soy milk. That was great. The soy milk doesn't taste like what you buy at a supermarket where oil and all other kinds of things are added. It tasted OK - well, like soy milk should.
But then came the problem.
To make tofu you have to add a coagulent to the soy milk. Modern manufacturers add chemicals but purists (like us) use nigari, a deep sea salt, Magnesium Chloride. When Tets added it it didn't work. Turns out it was out of date. So ... he added some more. Still no coagulation. So more.
Of course i didn't know that so I came in and tasted it. Well, I have not tasted many things as vile as that. It was horrid. Imagine soy milk mixed with a lot of sea water and you'll get close. Turns out the nigari had lost it's 'nigari-ness'.
Oh well. Back to the drawing board.
It just shows you that there is a lot of work behind the scenes to make a successful product and (fortunately) most people only see something after we have tried it out sometimes quite a few times. But the end result is worth it.
But it tasted vile. Watch this space :-)
posted by Tsunami Restaurant at 12:47 am
4 Comments:
My girlfriend & I decided we would try making it one day - after I came back from Tokyu Hands with a "Tofu Press".
I remember starting at midday - and having something we could call tofu at about 1 AM!! - only 13 hours for a sloppy block of tofu.
We only had a small spice blender - I think it took about 20 "batches" to grind all the beans. She then took great joy in reading instructions that said "squeeze the liquid out of the ground beans...and in brackets "THIS IS MEN'S WORK"". It certainly was tough going.
It was when it came to adding the nigari that she read out instructions that said "most important for success is having exactly the right temperature". They gave something like a 5 degree range that was acceptable.
We had no way of knowing what temperature our brew was at - but at my brother's house we could select the hot water temperature in 5 degree increments - so I filled a container with water approximately the right temperature & poked my finger into one pot and then the other to try and determine when they were about the same.
Finally we wrapped it up in the cheesecloth and put it in its press.
We rested for a couple of hours before getting up to taste our creation. We both certainly had a lot more respect for tofu shops.
I wish you all the best in your fresh tofu endeavours. Perfect for summer served chilled on a shiso leaf with a little drizzle of soy.
mmmmm.....umai
That's very encouraging. But I have to know - how did it taste? Did it taste similar to the tofu that you buy or was it completely different?
Don't be discouraged from doing it yourself. But maybe buy a bigger blender (just a cheap 'Hardly Normal' one) and cook it in a big pot (at least that's what I saw tetsuya doing). And, hey, you had better luck than us on your first go.
And you're right. Plain with a sprig of shiso sounds great!
Well the taste....It is definitely different to normal shop bought block tofu. Actually the only place I tasted something similar was at an izakaya chain "doma doma". I would always order their fresh tofu - which shared some of the characteristics of what I made... ie slightly yellow/brown, "organic" flavour, a bit "sloppy". Their taste was a lot nicer (more refined) than mine - but I must admit at first I questioned whether what they had served was really tofu.
It makes sense that the only two things that can really effect the taste are the soybeans and the water - so I guess highest quality (maybe fresh soybeans + spring water) would be good. The texture I achieved was also similar - i can't think of anything better than to say a "not quite set" creme caramel. Where I had it they would serve it with a small blunt wooden spoon for distributing to individual bowls. It was soft enough that you could easily scoop bits off.
I don't think all customers would like the taste, even if they like normal block tofu.
I think there would be a small market for it though. I would definitely come down to try.
I'm sure you would be the only restaurant in Perth doing this. Because there is so much effort involved I can't imagine it would be worthwhile on a Friday/Saturday night - but maybe a summer Sunday entree?
As a byproduct you will have all that left over okara. Another very nice side dish I had once was okara + sliced okra(lady fingers) + yuba. I couldn't quite work out the seasoning - but absolutely delicious.
Please keep me informed of your progress.
Next you will have to put fresh soba on the summer menu!
Good luck.
God I wish I liked tofu more. I try I REALLY try, but I always end up feeling like I just drank a light beer - no satisfaction and it doesn't taste quite right.
The best tofu dish I've ever had was made for me by the parents of a half Japanese boy I coach. It was a traditional Chinese recipe that roughly translated to "Freckled old ladies bottom". The sauce was actually a little browned mince with a ton of hot bean paste, soy, nam pla, you name it. Just a fire ball and aromatic to the point of being pungent.
Their food must be good and vigorous as their son just won the U/14 state triathlon championship! Best tofu ever!
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