Internet Version [Naruhodo no Mori] Vol.53

by Yumiko Mori

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Vol.53   September 15th, 2000

How to make Tofu

Secrets of making good tasting tofu

Home science experiments for mothers of elementary school children

Mom: "Have you ever made tofu by yourself?"
All the children: "Never."
Mom: "That's what I thought. I will cook delicious fresh tofu for all of you."
Shun-ichi: "Tofu?"
Tomo: "What is this?"
Mom: "This is soy milk. It is made from soy beans. I got this soy milk from a nearby tofu shop.
We are going to heat up soy milk and then add a little bit of bittern. That's all!"
While mixing and checking the temperature with a thermometer, we continue adding small amount of bittern.
The soy milk is gradually getting hard and turns into tofu.
Mom: "Everybody, tofu is ready. Have some."
Tomo: "This is delicious!"
Izumi: "This tofu is warm!"
Shun-ichi: "This is so good!"
Mom: "Now you know. This is very special tofu."

Materials (for 300 grams of tofu)

Bittern	Approximately 20 ml	(You can make bittern from 2 liter of sea water. Please refer to the previous volume.)
Soy milk	500 ml	(You may be able to obtain soy milk from professional tofu maker.)
A thermometer		(A cooking thermometer is fine)
A clean dishcloth
A pot	A wooden spatula	A spoon
A sieve	A soup ladle	Rubber bands

How to make tofu

1. Heat up soy milk in a pot at medium heat. When the temperature reaches 70-75 degree Centigrade, turn off heat.

2. Add two spoonful of bittern to the soy milk.
   Mix gently the soy milk with a wooden spatula as if you are scooping something from the bottom of the container. Leave it for 4 minutes.

3. While checking the temperature, repeat the step #2 for two more times.

4. Pick solidified tofu in a soup ladle. Eat tofu while it is still hot.
   (This freshly made tofu is called oboro-tofu)

5. Place a clean dishcloth on a sieve. Then put the freshly made tofu on it.
   Wrap tofu with the dishcloth and tie it with a rubber band.
   Leave it for 20 minutes until excess water is drained.

Tofu making: 7 findings and problems

• When you boil soy milk, you can get 'yuba' (sheets of soy milk).

• Freshly prepared warm 'oboro-tofu' is very delicious.

• Soy milk becomes solidified after bittern is added.
  Proteins can become denatured by heat, acids, or metal ions (bittern contains magnesium ions).
  But if you add bittern to cow milk or soy milk which is sold for drinking purpose, either milk doesn't get solidified.

• Bittern doesn't add bitter taste to tofu.

• 87-90% of tofu is water.

• Tofu came from China.
  According to a book, they invented tofu, when they wanted to add salt to tofu in order to enhance its taste.
  

• I asked a tofu peddler how to make good tofu.
  Myself: "How can I make smooth tofu?"
  Tofu peddler: "Maybe you added too much bittern. It may be difficult to make good tofu from such a small amount of soy milk."
  Myself: "But for me this soy milk is more expensive than tofu itself. It's not worth the cost."
  Tofu peddler: "Well, you should buy tofu from me rather than making your own."

* If the temperature too low, tofu may not solidify.

* You can make a rectangle tofu if you use a milk carton instead of a sieve.
See the illustration.

Tofu peddler

A familiar tofu peddler comes to our neighborhood twice a week to sell his own tofu. He always shows up certain time of the day and visits regular customers' houses. He shows up even on rainy days or windy days. I admire his hard work and sincerity. He has taught me how difficult it is to keep doing the same thing every day. He even gave me secrets in tofu making. But his sweaty facial expression showed his professionalism.'