This recipe is adapted from Vietnamese-born cookbook writer Andrea Nguyen’s book “Asian Tofu: Discover the Best, Make Your Own, and Cook It at Home.” Nigari is a coagulant for making tofu; you can buy it online or substitute Epsom salt. If you don’t make your own soy milk first, as they do at Tao Yuan, buy it at a local Asian market or natural foods store. Check the ingredients; you don’t want any additives. This recipe requires a tofu mold; Tao Yuan staff bought a wooden mold on Amazon, which came with a package of nigari.

8 cups fresh, unsweetened soy milk

11/2 teaspoons nigari

Simmer the soy milk in a large pot for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, dissolve the nigari in 1/2 cup water and set aside.

Let the soy milk cool for 3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to accelerate the cooling. With a fine-mesh sieve, skim off bubbles and any skin that forms on the soy milk.

Stir the milk in a ‘z’ pattern to get it moving quickly – this is important for best tofu texture. While moving the spoon, pour in one-third of the coagulant. Hold the spoon in the center of the pot until the milk stops moving, then slowly remove the spoon.

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A teaspoon at a time, add another third of the coagulant without disturbing the milk.

Be sure to evenly disperse the coagulant.

Clamp on a tight-fitting lid and let the mixture sit for 3 minutes.

Remove the lid, add the final third of the coagulant in the same manner. Agitate the top half-inch of the mixture with a spoon. Cover again and let sit 3 more minutes.

Meanwhile, set up your tofu mold. After the last 3-minute period, the tofu solids should be separated from the “whey.”

Ladle the solids into the mold, trying to keep the curds as big as possible.

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Put the lid on the mold, and weigh down with 3 pounds of even pressure for 15 to 20 minutes.

Gently remove the fresh tofu from the mold and slip into cold water.

Let sit for 2 hours to allow flavor to develop, then enjoy.

Tofu will keep a week in the refrigerator if the water is changed every day.


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