Vegan Ireland: How to make tofu.

1. Soak the beans.
Soak the beans (250g) in a bowl of water overnight (10 to 20 hours). Be sure to use enough water so the beans can double in size.

2. Blend the beans.
The next day, pour out the water, rinse the beans and transfer them into a blender with water. Blend till smooth. You can start with only half the beans and 500ml of water, and repeat a second time. If you do not have a big blender or smoothie maker, hand blenders work just as well but you will probably have to do this in several batches.

3. Cook the mixture.
Transfer the mixture to a saucepan. If it is too thick, add more water and stir well. Cook for 30min at low temperature. When it starts boiling, keep an eye on the saucepan and stir the mixture often, as it will foam up a lot during this process. If the foam gets too high, add a few drops of cold water over the top or remove from the heat for a few seconds.
After 30min, turn off the heat and leave to cool down a bit.

4. Filter the mixture.
(See on the right column: How to filter the milk, step-by-step).
Place a strainer - lined with muslin cloth - over a bowl or a saucepan.

Pour the mixture into the strainer.
Don’t overfill the strainer, you can repeat this operation a few times, whichever way you feel more comfortable.

Gather up the sides of the cloth and twist it closed. Start squeezing the cloth with your hands or a potato masher to extract the liquid. Once no more liquid comes out, remove the pulp from the cloth and store it in a container. Repeat this process until all the mixture has been filtered.

What you have now in the saucepan is the soya milk. The solid material left in the cloth is called Okara (see above picture). Do not throw it away, you can make burgers with it.

Step 2: make the tofu

1. Reheat the soya milk.
Reheat the soya milk at low heat, stirring often (if you have a thermometer, the ideal degree for the milk to coagulate is 65°C or 150°F).

2. Coagulate the soya milk.
Juice one lime and filter it in a small strainer to remove any pulp.
When the soya milk is hot, gently pour half the filtered lime juice into the saucepan and stir about 5 times with a spoon in a whirlpool pattern. Then add the remaining juice and stir very gently.
The milk will start to coagulate and form blocks. Let it sit for 15mins. A yellowish liquid will separate from the forming blocks. Check with a tablespoon if big blocks are forming underneath the surface. If not much is happening, add more lime juice, until it curdles.

2. Filter the tofu.
(See on the right column: How to use the tofu kit, step-by-step).
In the meantime, place again the strainer, lined with muslin cloth, over a bowl or a saucepan. When big blocks of tofu have formed in the saucepan, you can transfer the mixture gently into the strainer and wait until all the water is filtered. What you have left is the tofu.

2. Prepare the tofu kit.

Place the tofu kit over a plate or any other container to catch the water coming out of the kit.
Transfer the muslin cloth containing the tofu gently in your tofu kit. Press the tofu with a spoon to make sure it fits all the corners of the mould. Put the lid on top and fold up the muslin sides on top of the lid. Put a weight on top to press out excess water and make the tofu firm. It would be ideal if the object you use as a weight could fit the box so the whole block is pressed and not just the middle.
The tofu can be eaten after an hour of being pressed. The next day, the tofu block will be pretty firm and delicious. Don't forget to transfer the tofu block to a container filled with water and change the water every day.

How to make tofu

Getting started

Step 1: Make soya milk

Step 2: make the tofu

Make your own tofu kit!

How to filter the milk, step by step

How to use the tofu kit, step by step

Buying a tofu kit