food 4 tots

Homemade soybean milk

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Soybean milk (豆水)is a healthy, nutritious,and delicious drink for everyone. It’s also one of my family’s favourite drinks. For convenience, we usually consume those pre-packed ones even though they lack the wholesome freshness in taste. Beggar can’t be choosy, right?

 

But recently I chanced upon a very informative post written by Dr Leslie Tay of ieatishootipost on how to make tau huay/ tofu fah. Tau huay (soybean curd/豆花) is an end product from the coagulation of soybean milk. I was truly inspired and impressed by the amont of efforts and time he spent experimenting before he finally made his perfect tau huay.  However, going all the way to attempt at making tau huay looks a bit too ambitous for me for the time being. So, I decided to just stop at making soybean milk using Dr Leslie’s easy-to-follow steps. The slide show presentation in his post also helped me to understand better the process. Besides that, I had also added some tips I learnt from Delicious Asian Food who had also made the awesome looking black soybean milk.

 

There are several key points to take note before making soybean milk:
a)  use a coffee sock/filter to make the squeezing process easier (and less messy if you have space limitation in your kitchen).
b) filter 2 times before cooking and 1 time after cooking to give the soybean milk the extra smoothness.
c) stir the soybean milk constantly during the cooking process so as to avoid burning the milk.
d) bring the soybean milk to boil very slowly.
e) loosen and remove the soya bean skins before cooking. This is to remove the waxy taste.

 

For a beginner like me, I must admit that it is indeed a very challenging task. Due to lack of experience, I made several silly mistakes in my first attempt. Nevertheless, I stilll managed to produce a smooth and fragrant soybean milk. In fact, it’s the best soybean milk I had tasted so far!

 

I am someone who is never be discouraged by failures. Practice makes perfect. I always believe that winner is the one who makes the most mistakes. If you read my post carefully before cooking, it will definitely be a POSSIBLE mission for you! I bet if you have tasted your own homemade soybean milk, you will never drink others anymore.

 


RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE SOYBEAN MILK

Make: 10 cups

Equipments: P7038795-copy
1 large cloth filter/coffee sock (note 6) – refer to photo
2 large cooking pots
1 large colander
1 large wooden spoon
1 large sieve

Ingredients:
500g soybeans (note 1)
2500ml filter water
5-6 pandan leaves/ screwpine leaves (wash and tie in a knob)
Rock sugar (to taste)

Steps:

  1. Wash and rinse the beans several times until the water is clean.
  2. Put the beans in a large pot, cover with water and soak the beans overnight (at least 10 hours). (note 2)
  3. Loosen skins by rubbing with your hands. This is to remove the waxy taste (note 3).
  4. Remove/ discard all the skins from the pot with a sieve (note 3).
  5. Rinse a few times until the water is clean.
  6. Drain the beans with colander.
  7. Put the beans in a blender and add water to cover the beans. Blend until a smooth pulp (slurry) is obtained (note 4).
  8. Add any remaining water to the slurry.
  9. Filter slurry with a coffee sock/cloth filter. Let the milk drain into the cooking pot. Then squeeze till dry (note 5 & 6).
  10. As an extra filter, place a sieve over the cooking pot before squeezing the coffee sock/cloth filter in step 9.
  11. Before cooking, filter the milk once more to ensure a smooth texture for the end product.
  12. Pour the filter soybean milk into a large pot and add pandan/screwpine  leaves.
  13. Stir the soybean milk constantly and bring it to a boil very slowly so as to avoid burning the milk.
  14. In the meantime, prepare sugar syrup using the rock sugar.
  15. Once the soybean milk starts boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for another 10 mins. Discard the foam and pandan/screwpine leaves (note 7).
  16. Filter the cooked soybean milk once more to ensure extra smoothness.
  17. Add the rock sugar syrup to taste. Served hot or cold.

Notes:

  1. The quality of beans is the most important factor in making tasty soybean milk. In this case, it is recommended to use organic soybeans.
  2. The beans will expand and absorb a lot of the soaking water. Thus, make sure you use enough water for soaking. As a rule of thumb: approx. 2 times the amount of the beans.
  3. Steps (3) and (4) are optionals but I suggest that you do it in your first attempt and see if you can taste the difference.
  4. If your blender is not moving smoothly, add extra water. I have to blend the beans in a few batches because my blender is small.
  5. It is easier and faster to squeeze the slurry in 2-3 batches.
  6. I found that using a coffee sock/ coffee filter helps to speed up the squeezing process. It also reduces the mess in your kitchen basin. I bought mine from a shop selling kitchenware in the wet market.
  7. It is important to allow the milk to simmer for 10 minutes after you bring it to a boil if you want to bring out the full flavour and fragrance of the soymilk.
  8. This soybean milk is best consumed within 2 days as no preservative is used. Keep the milk in the refrigerator when not consumed.

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66 Comments

  1. cariso says:

    Great step 1-2-3 even for beginners!

  2. felicia says:

    big fan of soy milk!
    DEFINITELY going to try this out.
    i love everything soy! heh.
    thanks for sharing 😉
    though it looks very tedious to make.
    hahaha!

    • food-4tots says:

      Felicia: Glad that you love this recipe and also very happy to know that there is a gentleman to take over this challenging task for you. You are so lucky! 😉

  3. Joanne says:

    I am more of an almond milk than a soybean milk person, but I am in awe that you made this yourself! Very impressive.

  4. ck lam says:

    Homemade soybean milk is always better as you can choose the thickness of the milk too.

  5. Ching says:

    Love this, very healthy, homemade is less sweet too.

  6. Good step by step for beginners like me. ^-^

  7. Selba says:

    Well done! 🙂

  8. Alice says:

    Simply delicious! I used the same cloth filter too… 😉

  9. Christine says:

    My Po Po gave me her automatic soya bean machine a few years ago, it does make it easier as you don’t have to boil or blend the beans, but cleaning it is another issue! I might try your hand-made method to see if there’s a difference in taste!

    • food-4tots says:

      Christine: I have heard of this machine before. But since we are not drinking soybean milk that frequent, I still prefer to stick to manual for the time being. Do share with me your feedback. 😉

  10. pablopabla says:

    You did it! Yay! Glad it was a success 😀

    Some make sugar syrup with ginger. Supposed to help reduce “wind” in the stomach which can be quite common in those who are not used to taking beans 😀

    • food-4tots says:

      Pablopabla: Tks for your useful tips. I am not sure whether my son can accept sugar syrup with ginger but will definitely give it a try in future. Tks for sharing. 😉

  11. Criz Lai says:

    Cool recipe. You know you could pep it up to attract the attention of kids? I once bought the bigger version of sago (the pearl tea size), cooked it then let it simmer slowly in brown sugar. Ta da! I had black pearl in soy bean milk. You should try that out one day. 🙂

  12. wish I can have one glass right now!! now you make me thirsty look at your drink!my daughter keep asking me for “toh chang sui” !! she can almost pronouce the name but I’m too lazy to make /blend/cook now.wish I have the machine!

    • food-4tots says:

      My Asian Kitchen: Just found out that you also made one recently. It looks delicious to me. If you drink it everyday, then it is worth investing a machine. Your dd looks so adorable. My son speaks Cantonese dialect with an “ang moh” accent. Another headache to me!

  13. An says:

    I’ve been looking for a homemade version of soya milk for a long time – and had withdrawals from no soya milk machine at home. The best soya milk I had was once from the machine.

    Thank you so much for the recipe and the link – will definitely check out the recipe for tofu far as well! 🙂

  14. Dora says:

    Only made soyabean milk once when i was in Sec. Sch home economics class. Very tasty!

    Nowadays only purchase those produced by F&N.

  15. Little Inbox says:

    Homemade soy bean milk is the best! I don’t trust those selling outside. My sister used to make soy bean milk and distribute some to us. Haha, lucky neh…

  16. wow I love soya milk they are gorgeous . . . how I am using them for my vegeterian desserts!

  17. noobcook says:

    This looks amazing and I like your food styling with black background! I’ve been comtemplating for a while to get a soya bean milk “machine” … kudos for making it from scratch!

  18. very detail… should be easy to make. but kinda time consuming… well, good food is always needs patient to make. right?

  19. kongkay says:

    what’s next… taufu fah? had better submit as an entry to merdeka open house @ babe in the city k.l.

  20. allie says:

    I like the way you decorate your cup of soya bean drink 🙂

  21. mycookinghut says:

    I love soybean milk! It may be a long process but I do believe homemade one is always better!! I know it’s time consuming and I think my mom probably made it less than 3 times in her life! I have never made it but I think I am tempted to try!

  22. I bought a soybean milk maker cos it was the only thing I could drink while I was pregnant with number 2 and 3. Definitely homemade is better. But the question is, how did you manage to dress up a simple glass of homemade soybean milk to look so good?! 😉

  23. So interesting! I’d love to try making tofu too!

  24. A long time ago, I tried making soy bean milk once but it had that weird soy beans taste. Not sure what went wrong. Anyway, the best and most pekat soy bean milk is in Penang, so “fragrant.”

  25. homeladychef says:

    I must admit that you are really patient when comes to cooking. So long as the end result is worth it, i guess i must try my own version of soybean milk soon! Thanks for your recipe. it makes my day!!

  26. KY says:

    Nice photo, I like the cute little umbrella and impressed with your never-say-die attitude. BTW, you may want to try substituting part of the water used when you make the gingko nuts, dried bean curd and barley dessert next time cos’ it tastes wonderful. Try it!

    • food-4tots says:

      KY: Tks for your kind words!! I will give it a try next round provided I still have the energy to make this tong sui. Hehehe! Instead of using homemade soybean milks, you can also use tau pao (beancurd skins) to cook together with the rest of ingredients using pressure cooker. The tong sui turns out to be very tasty, thick and fragrant. I had eaten it during an AMC cooking demo. 😉

  27. making own soybean milk is always better than buying it from the stall. Great job, food-4tots 🙂

  28. Chin says:

    Beautiful. So nice for a rainy and lazy Sunday.

  29. Diana says:

    This is awesome! I never would have thought to make my own soymilk. I will have to see if I can find affordable soybeans in my area.

  30. Elin says:

    Hi,
    Thanks for sharing this soup recipe. I love your blog…healthy recipe ,unlike mine :p
    I have passed an award to you. pls drop by and check it out. Thanks once again for your sharing 🙂

    Cheers,
    Elin

    • food-4tots says:

      Elin: Tks a lot for this wonderful award! I am really appreciate it. You have a great blog too! I don’t mind to have some of your sinful indulgences once a while. 😛

  31. buzzingbee says:

    my mum made soya bean milk sometimes but it’s really a hassle…alot of work! But making our own ones are really more milky than those sold outside! 🙂

  32. Jo Teh says:

    Homemade soya bean milk is alot more fragrant and we can control the sweetness.Got sore neck and shoulders after the first attempt…I have since nicknamed it as the “to-impress-my-husband” drink.
    He said : “Very impressive, very authentic! Very nice, make some more next time” It had been 3 years since…

  33. WP says:

    I love the coffee sock. Where did you get it?

  34. big fan of soy milk!

    impressive writing 🙂 very good article 🙂

  35. […] recipe was modified from Lai Kuan’s original recipe at https://food-4tots.com/2009/08/09/homemade-soybean-milk/. We prefer a thicker beverage so we have reduced the water to beans ratio. This is up to your […]

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