As a breakfast item, usually we (Singaporeans, Chinese people, Asian people) love to eat it with the savoury version of fried fritters which has a similar based as doughnut called Youtiao, also known as Chinese cruller, Chinese fried churros, Chinese oil stick, Chinese doughnut. It is a long golden-brown deep-fried strip of dough commonly eaten in Southeast Asia (so it means you can find it easily in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia too). Soy milk, unlike cow's milk, is naturally low in saturated fat, making it an attractive option for those who don't believe the "good fat" hype. Also, soy milk contains no cholesterol because of its plant-based origins.
Using soybeans to make milk instead of raising cows may be ecologically advantageous. Cows require much more energy in order to produce milk, since the farmer must feed the animal, which can consume up to 24 kilograms (53 lb) of food in dry matter basis and 90 to 180 litres (24 to 48 US gal) of water a day, producing an average of 40 kilograms (88 lb) of milk a day. Legumes, including the soybean plant, also replenish the nitrogen content of the soil in which they are grown.
To make from scratch, you will just need 2 ingredients: Organic dry soy beans and water.
INGREDIENTS
INGREDIENTS
1 cup dry soy beans (preferably organic)
5 cups water (plus more for soaking and rinsing)
Optional sweetener to taste (like sugar, agave, maple syrup or stevia)
DIRECTIONS
Soak the beans in fresh water for one day in a large container.
Make sure there is enough room for the beans to expand to triple their size.
Add water if the water level drops below the top of the beans.
Drain the beans and transfer to a large bowl.
Add enough water to completely submerge the beans.
Rub the beans between your fingers to remove the skins.
Remove the skins from the bowl by mixing the beans around and letting the beans settle to the bottom.
Then skim the top to get at the loose skins.
Discard the skins.
Try to get most of the skins but don't worry if there are a few left.
Drain the beans.
Blend the beans with 5 cups of water until the beans well pureed.
This took about one minute with my regular 12 speed Blender on the Liquefy setting.
If you have a high speed blender, take care not to over blend.
You may need to work in a couple batches depending on your blender's capacity.
Strain the liquid into a large pot using a nut milk bag, jelly bag or a few layers of cheesecloth over a colander or sieve. The liquid will be your soy milk. The pulp, known as okara, do not discard these because you can use it in other recipes (eg Okara Brownies, Vegan Burger etc).
Heat the milk on high heat until boiling while stirring regularly.
The milk tends to form a skin at the bottom of the pot so stirring is necessary to keep this from building up. During this process, a skin may form at the top; this is normal and known as yuba. The yuba can be stirred back into the milk or skimmed off.
Let the milk boil for a couple minutes; stir and reduce the temperature as needed to prevent the milk from bubbling over.
Reduce the heat to medium or medium low. At this point, it's a good idea to taste the milk.
It may be a bit beany tasting and bitter. As the milk is cooked, the beany and bitter taste will be reduced.
Let the milk simmer for anywhere between 15 minutes.
When ready, strain the milk into a container.
Serve the milk hot or cold.
Add sweetener to taste. I use about 1 or 2 teaspoons of maple syrup per cup.
NOTES Store your fresh soy milk in the fridge for up to 3 days.
The leftover soymilk pulp (okara) will also stay fresh in the fridge for about 3 days.
