How to Make Silken Tofu

Making your own silken tofu is a simple process, and much less expensive than buying it if you eat silken tofu often. The whole process will take a couple hours, including waiting time. The key to making silken tofu is the coagulant mixture. The stronger the coagulant the harder the tofu will be. The coagulant mixture in this recipe asks for one teaspoon natural calcium sulfate. In a traditional tofu recipe the coagulant mixture would call for at least 2 teaspoons natural calcium sulfate.

Things You'll Need

• Soy milk
• Cooking pot
• Thermometer
• Natural calcium sulfate
• Cheese cloth
• Tofu mold

Instructions

1. Bring 4 cups of soy milk to a simmer on the stove. Keep the soy milk simmering for 5 to 10 minutes while stirring it continuously.

2. Cool the soy milk to approximately 175 degrees F. Keep the soy milk at this temperature as you move onto the next step.

3. Prepare the coagulant mixture. The coagulant is what makes the soy milk turn into a solid creating Tofu. To prepare coagulant slowly stir 1 teaspoon of natural calcium sulfate into 1 cup warm water.

4. Add the coagulant to the soy milk slowly. Stir in most of the coagulant mixture, then let it sit for a couple minutes. The soy milk will start to separate. There will be white curds, which is the tofu and a dark colored liquid, which is called whey. Stir in the remaining coagulant.

5. Scoop out the little white curds and put them into a tofu box or other mold, which you lined with a piece of cheesecloth. A tofu mold should be a sanitary container that has a lid and small holes to allow the tofu to continue draining.

6. Put the lid on the container once you are done scooping. Then put something heavy on top of the mold for approximately 20 minutes. You can use a small weight or even a food jar. It only needs to be a couple of pounds.

7. Open the mold. All the tofu should be compressed into a block. Drop the block into cold water. Leave it in the cold water for approximately 60 more minutes.

8. Take the tofu out of the cold water and store it in the refrigerator. While in the refrigerator, you should keep in tofu in a small bowl of water, and change the water regularly.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also make your own soy milk to use in the tofu.

• Time and temperature are very important when making tofu so make sure you have a thermometer and a timer near by.

References

• Tofu information

Resources

• Organic tofu instructions