This is a step-by-step instruction for perfect homemade tofu with super easy ingredients. Tofu is a magic food. Chinese people love almost all things from soy milk, the very basic is soy milk, then all types of tofu, fermented tofu, marinated tofu, dried tofu, and tons of delicious tofu dishes. It was pretty hard to buy in the past two days so I made a lot of batches myself at home. Follow the steps and you will find homemade tofu is very funning and easy.

How to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com

What’s tofu

Tofu, also known as bean curd, is a food staple that originated in ancient China. It is made from the curds of soy milk pressed into a soft, white block. The foundation of tofu is the whole soybean, which is soaked and processed with coagulants either calcium sulfate or magnesium chloride. This results in tofu containing protein, iron, and other vitamins and minerals. The tofu’s texture varies depending on water content, varying from silken tofu, regular tofu, and firm tofu to extra tofu.

⭐ Beans used to make tofu

The beans used to make tofu is soybeans. Soybean, or Glycine max, has been a staple in Asian cuisine for centuries. An important component of many vegan diets, soybean is versatile and can be turned into tofu, soy milk, and even soybean flour. Amazingly, tofu and soy milk possess similar flavors and develop different textures depending on the manufacturing process they undergo. With its high nutritional value–such as quality protein, fiber, minerals, and vitamins –soybean is an excellent addition to any diet. Chinese monks first invented tofu in the 2nd century AD, and it remains a popular ingredient throughout China.

📖About tofu coagulants – the curling agencies

There are several commonly used coagulants in Chinese cuisine.

  • salt coagulants: the first group is salt coagulants (盐卤) including gypsum (石膏粉) and Nigari salts (In Sichuan cuisine we call this 胆巴).
  • GDL: the second group is Acid coagulants including GDL (葡萄糖内脂), mainly for super tender tofu and tofu pudding. But regular acid including rice vinegar or even lemon juice can help the soy milk become solid too. I demonstrate how to make tofu with rice vinegar in this video. But other coagulants work too.
  • Sour solution: I use rice vinegar for the curling process this time because I want to show some magic about vinegar. You can replace the coagulants with other types. Make sure you read the instruction and follow the words exactly.

GDL and gypsum can produce the most tender tofu compared with the other three types. Rice vinegar and lemon juice can make soft tofu, firm tofu, and extra firm tofu.

My grandmother is quite good at making tofu, douhua, and fermented tofu. If you are interested in how we make large batches of tofu at home, check out this video on INS. Homemade tofu, although requires time, tastes better than the store-bought version because of the stronger aroma of soybeans. So I recommend all of the foodies try at least once to find the small differences.

How to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com

Ingredients for tofu

The ingredients for tofu are quite simple and easy. You will need the following.

  1. soybeans- choose high-quality soybeans
  2. a coagulant
  3. water to make soy milk.
how to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com

🥛How long to cook the soy milk

Soy milk should be boiled for enough time before eating. Uncooked soy milk is harmful to our health. You need to boil the soy milk for 15 minutes. But watch out for the fire carefully, it overflows quickly. Using a larger contains helps too.

🔪Instructions

Wash the soybeans and then soak the soybeans overnight or for 4 hours until softened. Transfer to a blender and add water. Blend until very smooth.

how to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com

Place gauze on a strainer and then strain the soy milk. 

how to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com

Bring the soy milk to a boil. Watch carefully since it overflows easily. Skin off the bubbles on the surface. Stir occasionally in the heating to avoid sticky bottom(recommend at least 15 minutes, Thanks Nicolas for the suggestion about the trypsin inhibitor). Remove from heat and rest for 2 to 3 minutes until the temperature drops around 80 degrees C to 90 degrees C.

No thermometer by hand, let the soy milk cool down for about 2-3 minutes. The temperature should be in the right range.

how to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com

Whisk 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar or 3 fresh lemon juice with 1 cup of water.

how to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com

Use a small spoon and gently stir the acid mixture in. You can watch the video for the details until the tofu protein is firmed (the liquid above becomes clear). You don’t need to use all of the vinegar mixtures. Once the liquid is clear, stop the step. Now we get the Sichuan-style douhua if slightly pressed.

Take time when stirring the vinegar water in and stop once the liquid turns transparent and clear. We don’t need to use all of it.

how to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com

Transfer to a shaping tool (I use a tofu maker) and press a weight. I use a stone crusher in the video. You can use anything with a heavyweight. The tofu can be pressed for 10 minutes (soft tofu) to 1 hour (firm tofu). You can use a wooden presser or a plastic presser.

how to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com

After the processing, I recommend soaking the tofu in cold water for at least half an hour so the texture can be more intense and the way, possible to remove the extra sourness or bitterness caused by the coagulants.

how to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com
meatball and tofu soup|chinasichuanfood.com

How to make tofu taste good

Tofu itself is quite plain and has no unique taste. Following is some of my favorite way of turning it into something really delicious.

  • Pan-fried and then toast with the spice mix. This is the simplest way of making tofu delicious. Cumin, Chinese five spice, and other spice mix are the perfect match.
  • Match it with a dipping sauce, in Sichuan, we serve tofu with a chili dipping sauce. You bite both the tofu and the seasonings, making it taste really good.
  • Coat it with delicious sauces, like mapo sauce, sweet and sour sauce or kung pao sauce.

How to cook with tofu

I use this batch to make soup with super tender Chinese-style meatballs. And also easy pan-fried tofu. Following are some ideas about how to use your tofu. The long list shows how much I love tofu.
1. Mapo tofu
2. Sweet and Sour Tofu
3. Pan-fried tofu
4. Steamed tofu with chili sauce
5. Steamed tofu
6. Pan-fried tofu with black bean sauce
7.Tofu and Bok Choy Soup
8.Scrambled tofu
9.Kung Pao Tofu
10.Crispy sesame tofu
11.Minced pork and tofu fritters

pan-fried tofu|chinasichuanfood.com
How to make tofu at home|chinasichuanfood.com

Homemade Tofu

How to make tofu with super easy ingredient, soy beans, water and rice vinegar
4.80 from 24 votes
Print Pin Rate
Cuisine: Chinese
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Soaking time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 150kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 cups soy beans , clean and pre-soaked with water until soft
  • 5 L water , for blending the soy beans and washing the pulp
  • 3 tbsp. rice vinegar , or juice from 3 lemons
  • 1 cup water

Instructions

  • Wash the soy beans and then soak the soy beans overnight until softened. Transfer to a blender and add water. Blend until very smooth. I blend the soy beans by three batches, each time with 1L water for blending and another 500 to 700ml to wash the pulp.
  • Place a gauze on a strainer and then strain the soy milk. When the pulp is almost dry, add more water and wash the pulp. Squeeze the gauze bag forcefully to make sure all the liquid is squeezed.
  • Bring the soy milk to a boil. Watch carefully since it overflows easily. Stir from time to time to avoid a burnt bottom(recommend simmer for 15 minutes for the consideration of trypsin inhibitor). Skin off the bubbles on the surface. Remove from heat and rest for 2 to 3 minutes until the temperature drops around 80 degree C to 90 degree C. Stir from time to time during the heating to avoid sticky bottom.
  • Whisk 3 tablespoons of rice vinegar or 3 lemon juice with 1 cup of water.
  • Use a small spoon and gently stir the acid mixture in. You can watch the video for the details until all of the tofu protein is firmed (the liquid above becomes clear). You don’t need to use all of the vinegar mixture. Once the liquid is clear, stop the step.
  • Transfer to a shaping tool, you can use a rectangle strainer. Press with a weight. Set aside for 15 minutes for softer version or 30 minutes for firm version.
  • After the processing, I recommend soak the tofu in cold water for at least half an hour so the texture can be more intense and by the way, possible to remove the extra sour or bitterness caused by the coagulants.

Video

Notes

I make around 900 grams tofu 

Nutrition

Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 248mg | Potassium: 443mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 1.5mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 4.4mg
braised tofu with minced pork|chinasichuanfood.com

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106 Comments

  1. Thank you for this wonderful video. I enjoyed watching you cook, and it was also very calming! As soon as I receive my tofu press I will try your recipe.

    1. Thanks, Ann for leaving such a lovely comment. I hope you will like it. Making tofu is quite comforting so I hope you will enjoy it.

    2. 5 stars
      Ni hoa ma? My friend and I today made tofu from your recipe. From among all the recipes found on the internet, yours was the BEST! What a calming, and, nervous, experience!
      I do feel a small press would be handy to have to get all the soy milk out but, once I realized the pulp was too thick, we watered it down to a slurry and made hand pressing much easier. Also, a brewing nylon bag did better job than cheese cloth!
      Thank you…

      1. Loren,
        Nice to know that this nylon bag played a better role. I can imagine how lovely and exciting this process can be since it is your first trying. Super happy to read your comment. Happy cooking!

    3. Hi! I tried your recipe and no curds ever formed? I waited until 80 C to add vinegar. I used the entire cup and 3 tablespoon vinegar mixture and nothing happened. Where did I go wrong?

  2. 5 stars
    Thank you for showing us how to make our own tofu! Where I live it is hard to get so this is so helpful.

    My question is: what is the weight or size of the stone crusher you use in the video to press the tofu? I like really firm tofu so I want to make sure I use the right thing. Thanks again

    1. Marie,
      That’s a good question. You see we have a wooden cover firstly and then the pushing is evenly, so it will not crush or break the tofu.

  3. 5 stars
    Thank you for your response. I have another question. I know to boil the soy milk for 15 minutes so that it is not harmful. My question is: when you bring the soy milk to a boil do you simmer it for 15 minutes or have a strong boil for 15 minutes?

    It is a little confusing because in the video you said once it comes to a boil to turn down the fire and let it simmer for 1 minute but then you want us to boil it for 15 minutes. Could you please clarify this? Thank you

  4. 5 stars
    This recipe turned out great. You get such a big block of tofu! I had to be patient toward the end because it did not seem like the soy proteins were going to clump together. I think I should have put in more vinegar mixture sooner rather than later. But finally, after 15 or 20 minutes it started to curdle and whey! Freshest most delicious tofu! Also, if you are looking for a low sodium coagulant alternative rice vinegar is the way to go.

  5. 5 stars
    Thank you for sharing the recipe and recording a video on it. It made it easy to follow and my tofu turned out great.

  6. 5 stars
    Hello, you mentioned aromas and the trypsin inhibitor…I know that there is information out there on the internet about awful-smelling tofu but I can’t find it. I know that I have read that it has something to do with the enzymes. It is awful. I can’t eat the tofu. I have tried soaking, and cooking for a long time. Any ideas? Thank you.

  7. Hi I am confused. What do you do with the pulp? Is it the milk you make the tofu with or the pulp? If I use a high speed blender that creates soy milk without leaving significant pulp to strain, can I make tofu using pulp+milk? Thank you for your video.

    1. Hi,dil
      Your idea is theoretically feasible. You can try it. Remember to come back and let me know the final taste and texture.

  8. Hi there! It’s really a pity to throw away the gauze soy beans leftovers, do you have any tips on how to use them?