Chapter 46 Making Tofu
With the Spring Festival approaching, it's a custom in our rural area to make a pot of tofu before the festival.
I was just thinking of trying something new for myself.
I haven't used the big block of braising liquid I bought last time.
I soaked the soybeans the night before and then took out the small stone mill I bought.
The next morning, we got up early, lit the stove and heated the kang (a traditional heated brick bed), and fed the chickens.
Then take a look at the soybeans that were soaked a day in advance. The soybeans have now swelled and softened, and can be easily crushed with a gentle pinch of your fingers.
These are the soybeans that have been soaked properly; we can proceed to the next step.
Take the soybeans to the small stone mill that was moved out beforehand.
Place a bucket of water at the outlet of the stone mill.
Then, put the soybeans in little by little through the small opening at the top of the stone mill.
Add water while adding soybeans.
The ratio of soybeans to water is 1:3.
Turn the stone mill, and the soybeans flow down the spout little by little.
Then, milky white soy milk will slowly flow out of the graphite outlet.
Grinding soybeans is a rather long process, but I wasn't in a hurry. I found a movie and started grinding soybeans while watching it.
It took the entire movie's length to grind a large bowl of beans.
Then the ground soy milk needs to be filtered to remove the soy pulp.
However, I didn't buy a special gauze bag for making tofu, but luckily I ended up buying a large batch of fabric at the Curtain World.
Go to the basement and pick out the most breathable fabric from among the many options.
Use this piece of gauze as a gauze bag for making tofu.
Simply place the gauze on top of another empty bucket, and then pour the ground soy milk onto it little by little.
Once the entire bucket of soy milk has been poured into another bucket, gather up the cheesecloth, squeeze it, and squeeze out more soy milk.
Two large buckets of soy milk were filtered out.
Then pour the filtered soy milk from the entire bucket into a heated iron pot.
Since there are honeycomb briquettes at the bottom of the pot for heating, I saved the step of burning firewood.
I kept my eyes on the pot; the soy milk was boiling, but it was boiling everywhere.
Therefore, this step must be closely monitored.
Wait 5 minutes after the soy milk boils before ladling it into a bucket.
Make sure to wait at least 5 minutes; otherwise, the soy milk and tofu will have a beany smell.
When I poured the soy milk into the bucket, I made sure to save a large bowl for myself.
This handmade soybean milk is very rare; it's incredibly fragrant and mellow, unlike anything you'd find in stores.
The remaining soy milk in the bucket needs to cool down.
While waiting, I couldn't wait to drink my hot soy milk.
First, scoop out a small bowl, then sprinkle in a spoonful of white sugar.
After stirring well, drink it in small sips.
Homemade soy milk is very thick, has a rich aroma, and is delicious.
After drinking two small bowls of soy milk, the temperature in the bucket had dropped to around 80°C.
This temperature is suitable for starting the curdling process.
Dissolve the brine that I bought from the old lady in water.
Then, while stirring the soy milk, slowly add the brine.
Once you can see large clumps of coagulated tofu in the soy milk, you don't need to stir it anymore.
Let the tofu curd coagulate in the bucket of water for about 10 minutes. This allows the protein to fully solidify during this time.
After 10 minutes, take out the largest basin and put the gauze you just used into it.
Then pour the entire bucket of tofu pudding into a basin, tie it with gauze, and weigh it down with a bucket of oil.
I made two buckets of tofu pudding and two basins of pressed tofu.
Pressing for a short time makes soft tofu, while pressing for a long time makes firm tofu.
I pressed a plate of tofu for 20 minutes and a bowl of tofu for half an hour.
Soft tofu can be steamed or stewed, and it has a smooth and tender texture.
Stewing firm tofu gives it a unique flavor, and pan-frying it is also delicious, with a chewy texture.
After the time had passed, I lifted the lids of the two large basins of tofu and took a look.
Except for the fact that the tofu is round instead of square, it is impeccable.
I cut the soft tofu and firm tofu into two separate bowls.
These two large bowls of tofu are enough for me to eat for a long time.
However, tofu has a relatively short shelf life, so after making the tofu, I need to start researching how to preserve it.
Preserving firm tofu is simpler. I first took out four pieces of firm tofu, cut them into mahjong tile-sized pieces, and put them directly into the back room to freeze into frozen tofu.
Then take out five pieces of firm tofu, cut them into thick slices, and fry them in a pan.
Fry until golden brown and crispy on both sides, and you'll have tofu skewers.
I don't know what other places call it, but in our local dialect it's called "tofu stick".
This can be cut into thin strips for stir-frying, or eaten directly with some seasoning.
It's also great for stewing; it makes the food chewy and absorbs the sauce well.
Take out five pieces of soft tofu, cut them into the size of mahjong tiles, and freeze them in the back room.
Take out four more pieces, cut them into small pieces, coat them with salt, and then place them on a large tray and put them on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed) to dry.
Once these tofu pieces are dried into hard, dried tofu, they can be preserved for a long time and can be eaten in many ways.
It can be eaten directly as a snack, or used in stews, stir-fries, etc.
There are three pieces of the remaining fresh tofu; we can finish them over the next few days.
After processing all the tofu, I'm going to cook myself a whole tofu feast to try it out.
First, let's make a stew of pork belly, tofu, and glass noodles.
Cut the pork belly into thin slices and the tofu into small pieces.
Heat oil in a large iron wok, add chopped scallions and sauté until fragrant, then add pork belly and stir-fry until fragrant.
Then add a small amount of soybean paste and stir-fry until cooked. Add water, then add thirteen-spice powder, chicken bouillon, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce.
Once the water boils, add the tofu and thin glass noodles.
Simmer for 30 minutes, and the braised pork belly with tofu and glass noodles will be ready.
Mix tofu dregs with wheat flour to make a batter, then stick it directly to the side of a pot to make tofu dregs and wheat flour potstickers.
This method of stewing tofu and making potstickers with tofu dregs in one pot is somewhat similar to stewing in an iron pot.
While the stew was simmering in the iron pot, I prepared to cook something else.
Arrange the freshly fried tofu skewers directly on a plate, sprinkle with barbecue seasoning, chopped green onions, and cilantro.
It's stinky tofu that doesn't smell bad.
I originally wanted to make a tofu soup, but since I had a stew with soup, I figured I might not be able to finish it, so I gave up on that idea.
So I decided to make scallion tofu again.
Chop scallions and cilantro into sections and mix them with soft tofu.
Then heat some oil and pour it over the dried chili peppers. Mix the freshly made chili oil, sesame oil, oyster sauce, MSG, etc., into the soft tofu.
A delicious and refreshing dish of tofu with scallions is ready.
There was still a lot of tofu residue left, which I didn't plan to eat, so I categorized it as chicken feed.
Next time I feed the chicks, I'll add tofu residue. It will provide protein and nutrition without any waste.
After a while, the braised pork belly with tofu was ready.
A large bowl was served with scallions, tofu, and tofu sticks.
This meal is destined to be fragrant and delicious.
Braised pork belly with tofu and glass noodles: the pork belly is chewy, the tofu is tender, and the glass noodles are sticky and gooey, making for a delicious and flavorful dish.
Scallion and tofu salad is refreshing, spicy, and helps to cut through the richness of other dishes.
The tofu sticks tasted almost exactly like the stinky tofu from the snack street, only less pungent.
It was an absolutely perfect all-tofu feast! A successful attempt at trying something new!
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