How to Make Tofu with Nigari
Ingredients
1 cup of dry soybeans & 72 oz of water
3 tsp of Nigari (crystals) & ½ cup of water
Prepare Soybeans
Add 1 cup of soybeans to a quart jar and fill water to the curved rim.
Let soak for 12-24 hours.
Blend soybeans and water in a blender on Smoothie setting until the mixture is fine.
Pour mixture into a nut bag and squeeze into the pot.
Cook over medium-high heat (6.5) and heat slowly and stir constantly to avoid boiling over.
Bring mixture to a boil, it will foam up, but just keep stirring for 10 minutes.
The foam will start to go away and then it will simmer.
Do not change Anything. Leave the heat as it is.
Turn off the heat, remove from the burner, place the lid on top, and let cool for 10 minutes (temperature approximately 180 degrees).
In a quart jar, mix 3 tsp of Nigari and ½ cup of water and let sit. Then pour into mixture when ready and stir once into the pot.
Wait for approximately 2-3 for the curdle to coagulate.
Add mixture to jars for Silken or add to press for firmer tofu.
Where to get some of the things I use in my video on “
NON-GMO Soybeans for Making Soymilk & Tofu 20 Lbs: Link
Soymerica Tofu Coagulant – 1 Lb (16oz) Premium Nigari. Food Grade. 100% Product of USA: Link
Seed Sprouting Jar Kit with Wide Mouth Mason Jars, Premium Stainless Steel Screen Sprout Lids, Blackout Sleeves, Tray and Sprouter Stand: Link
NOYA Adjustable Tofu Press, Removing Water from Silken, Firm, and Extra Firm Tofu: Link
Nut Milk Bag for Straining, Cheesecloth Unbleached Bag, Washable Reusable: Link
Tofu
“Tofu (Japanese: 豆腐, Hepburn: Tōfu, Chinese: 豆腐; pinyin: dòufu) is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: silken, soft, firm, extra (or super) firm. Tofu is also known as bean curd in English. Beyond these broad textural categories, there are many varieties of tofu. It has a subtle flavor, so it can be used in savory and sweet dishes. It is often seasoned or marinated to suit the dish and its flavors, and due to its spongy texture, it absorbs flavors well. It is a traditional component of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines, and has been consumed in China for over 2,000 years. In modern Western cooking, it is most often treated as a meat substitute. Nutritionally, tofu is low in calories, while containing a relatively large amount of protein. It is high in iron, and can have a high calcium or magnesium content depending on the coagulants (e.g. calcium chloride, calcium sulphate, magnesium sulphate) used in manufacturing. In China, tofu is traditionally used as a food offering when visiting the graves of deceased relatives. It is claimed that the spirits (or ghosts) have long lost their chins and jaws so that only tofu is soft enough for them to eat.” ref
“The English word “tofu” comes from Japanese tōfu (豆腐). The Japanese tofu, in turn, is a borrowing of Chinese 豆腐 (Mandarin: dòufǔ; tou4-fu) ‘bean curd, bean ferment’. Tofu making was first recorded during the Chinese Han dynasty about 2000 years ago. Chinese legend ascribes its invention to Prince Liu An (179–122 BCE) of Anhui province. Tofu and its production technique were introduced to Japan during the Nara period (710–794). Some scholars believe tofu arrived in Vietnam during the 10th and 11th centuries. It spread to other parts of Southeast Asia as well. This probably coincided with the spread of Buddhism as it is an important source of protein in the vegetarian diet of East Asian Buddhism. Li Shizhen, during the Ming dynasty, described a method of making tofu in the Compendium of Materia Medica. Since then, tofu has become a staple in many countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, and Korea, with regional variations in production methods, texture, flavor, and usage.” ref
“Tofu was introduced to Japan during the Nara period (late 8th century) by Zen Buddhist monks, who initially called it “Chinese curd” (唐腐, tōfu). A firm variation of tofu was introduced in Tosa Province, today’s Kochi Prefecture, by a Korean doctor and prisoner of war following the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598). Much of tofu’s early use in East Asia was as a vegetarian substitute for meat and fish by Buddhist monks, especially those following Zen Buddhism. Benjamin Franklin was the first American to mention tofu, in a 1770 letter to John Bartram. Franklin, who encountered it during a trip to London, included a few soybeans and referred to it as “cheese” from China. In 1770, Franklin also corresponded with James Flint on the subject of how the Chinese converted callivances (soybeans) into tofu. Flint’s writing “Towfu” in his letter is the earliest documented use of “tofu” in the English language. The first tofu company in the United States was established in 1878. It is similar to the production of dairy cheese by coagulating the milk of dairy animals to form curds and pressing and aging the curds to form cheese. Typical tofu-making procedures are cleaning, soaking, grinding beans in water, filtering, boiling, coagulation, and pressing.” ref
- “Calcium sulfate (gypsum) (Chinese: 石膏; pinyin: shígāo) – the traditional and most widely used coagulant to produce Chinese-style tofu, it produces a tofu that is tender but slightly brittle in texture. The coagulant itself is tasteless. Also known as gypsum, calcium sulfate is quarried from geological deposits, and no chemical processing or refining is needed, making it the cheapest coagulant used in tofu production. When used in production, the coagulation reaction is slower due to its low solubility, forming a smooth, more gelatinous tofu with relatively high water content and soft texture. Use of this coagulant also makes tofu that is rich in calcium. As such, many tofu manufacturers choose to use this coagulant to be able to market their tofu as a good source of dietary calcium.” ref
- “Chloride-type nigari salts or lushui (Traditional: 鹵水, 滷水; Simplified: 卤水; Pinyin: lǔshuǐ) – Magnesium chloride and calcium chloride: Both of these salts are highly soluble in water and affect soy protein in the same way, whereas gypsum is only very slightly soluble in water and acts differently in soy protein precipitation, the basis of tofu formation. These are the coagulants used to make tofu with a smooth and tender texture. In Japan, a white powder called nigari, which consists primarily of magnesium chloride, is produced from seawater after the sodium chloride is removed and the water evaporated. Depending on its production method, nigari/Lushui may also contain small quantities of magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt), potassium chloride, calcium chloride, and trace amounts of other naturally occurring salts. Although the term nigari is derived from nigai, the Japanese word for “bitter”, neither nigari nor pure magnesium chloride imparts a perceivable taste to the finished tofu. Calcium chloride is not found in seawater in significant quantities and therefore is not regarded as nigari. It is used extensively in the United States due to its flavor and low cost. Fresh clean seawater itself can also be used as a coagulant.” ref
Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):
Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist, Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Jeweler, Poet, “autodidact” Philosopher, schooled in Psychology, and “autodidact” Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Pre-Historian (Knowledgeable in the range of: 1 million to 5,000/4,000 years ago). I am an anarchist socialist politically. Reasons for or Types of Atheism
My Website, My Blog, & Short-writing or Quotes, My YouTube, Twitter: @AthopeMarie, and My Email: damien.marie.athope@gmail.com