Making the recutangular homemade tofu has become my regular weekend activity lately.
These are basically all you need to make the authentic and healthy tofu: Natural soy milk (with no additives. I buy from Meiji Tofu), nigari liquid, water, Classic-style "all purpose" Donabe, wood mold, and cotton cloth to filter the tofu.
*Soy milk must be the natural kind with no additives (i.e. it has to be made only from pure water and soy beans).
**Nigari, which is the byproduct of the sea salt, is the extract of the sea water. In the traditional tofu making in Japan, only nigari is used as the coagulator of tofu, while most of the commercial kinds of tofu you find in the US use many additives. Nigari is considered to have many health benefits. Nigari liquid can be found at large Japanese grocery stores or some online specialty stores.
I brought back a tofu mold set from Japan. It's a beautiful wooden mold with a inner-lid (for the weight). The sides have the holes for the water to drain.
2 liters of soy sauce is heated in the donabe over medium-high heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spatula to prevent the skin to form on the surface, or the bottom from burning.
Combine the 2.5 to 3 teaspoon of nigari with 50 ml of boiling hot water. Once the temperature of the soy milk reaches 180-185 F (about 80-85 C) degrees, stir in the nigari-water mixture to the soy milk. Stir well. Turn off the heat.
Cover the top with a piece of foil and close the lid. Let it stand for 20-25 minutes or until the soy milk is loosely formed to become tofu.
Meanwhile, soak the wooden mold in water for 15-20 minutes. Line the inside with the cotton cloth. Wet the cotton cloth.
By using a slotted spoon, gently scoop the tofu into the mold over a drainer (a pan with the good depth and a rack) which is bigger than the mold.
Gently fold in the top sides of the cotton cloth over the surface and place the inner lid. Put 2 food cans (about 2 pounds total) on the lid as the weights. For the medium-firm tofu, let it rest with the weights for 20-25 minutes.
Remove the weights. In a large bowl with the water, gently invert the mold (with the inner-lid) to unmold the tofu. Remove the inner-lid and the cotton cloth. Let the tofu rest in the water for 30-60 minutes. Meanwhile, change the water 1-2 times in order to release the excess nigari flavor from the tofu. Now, tofu is ready to eat!!
To best enjoy the freshly made tofu, I like the very simple preperation, such as hiya-yakko. In the top picture, I sprinkled the salt, scallion and grated ginger on top of the tofu and drizzeled a little amount of the sesame oil over it.
Authentic homemade tofu is nothing like the generic factory-made kind you can find at a grocery store. It's like eating the soy garden!!!
