Home made Soy Milk

For the past few days, I've been slaving myself because of my craving for some soy milk. The soy milk they sell in the local department store doesn't seem to compare to the soy milk I grew up drinking back home. The soy milk here taste like a whole bunch of chemical was added into it, AND I could taste the soy bean skin, which and most probably wasn't peeled before they ground it up and boil it.

I only made Soy Milk 3 times in my lifetime, the first one was a success, a complete dupe of the authentic soy milk they sell back home. Unfortunately, the other one was a bust, why you may ask? I did not peel the skin of the soy bean which produced an awful smell, and taste. This was the time I knew that most of the brands they sell in the large department stores are not peeled, or isn't completely peeled anyway.

This recipe I must admit is quite easy on the pocket. And doesnt taste like any store bought soy milk out there. Here in the US anyway. I bought a big bag of Soy Beans in a Chinese grocery for $3. And you'll only need about 1/3 of the bag for half a gallon of Soy Milk.

**If this is your first time tasting this kind of Soy Milk just try to make a small batch**

Place 5 Cups of Soy Bean in a large container filled with a lot of water. Soak the Soy Bean overnight, and you will notice they expanded twice their original size. Discard the water and fill with clean water again.

Soaked overnight.

This comes the meticulous part. I would suggest doing this when you're bored and have a couple hours to spare. Think movie marathon? Or even better... FRIENDS marathon.

Peel the skin from the bean, you just basically pinch them and the Soy bean will pop out. Once you get the hang of this, its pretty easy... I said easy not fast... It took me 2-3 hours to peel them and I didn't even get them all, which my OCD self was screaming inside, but my fingers were tired... and wrinkly. Although time passes by when you're watching some FRIENDS episode and laughing at Ross.

Constantly discard the water when its starts looking white-ish and you starts smelling a beany smell. Don't worry if you crush or split the bean in half, this actually makes things easier to spot.

Look at all those skins.

Discard the skin and some beans that didn't expand or take in water. Don't worry about not peeling ALL of them, its nearly impossible unless you have some Asian army behind you, I left mine back in Japan, so its my bad-luck. That's my mom and sister by the way. They are all the army I need.

Place 2 cups of soy bean in a blender with 3 cups of water and transfer them to a deep pot. Do this until all the bean are pulverize. Place about 2 L of water and let it come to a simmer, remove the foam on top.

Be very careful with this, it tends to over boil and flow out causing a BIG mess in your kitchen. so Stir...Stir...Stir...

Add 3-4 Tbs of DARK BROWN SUGAR and 1/2 Cup of milk. But you can always adjust the sweetness to your preference. Taste the soy milk and if it pleases your fancy. Turn the heat off and strain it with a CHEESECLOTH placed on top of a strainer over a pitcher. Please don't just use a fine strainer, it just doesn't work as well as even I would hope.

If you're happy with the taste you can just wait to let it cool and place it in the refrigerator,

If its too bland: Reboil the soy milk in a clean pot until it reduce to the desired taste.
If its too strong: Just add some water to suit your taste

Pork Anyone?

There are days when I want to be grand in the kitchen but yet become very lazy to do so... Therefore, I tried working on my plating skills which is improving, if I may say so.... I've been in the process of making some homemade soy milk and feeling like the Asian girl that I am, I just had to pair it with some Chinese Braised Pork Belly. All I needed was to learn to make some Mantou bread and (maybe?) some Chinese grandma out there might be proud of me. But before I harness all other Chinese culinary technique, Ill settle for this tonight.




Ingredients

1    Slab of Pork Belly
2    Tbs Vegetable Oil
1    Cup Soy Sauce
3    Cup Water
3    Tbs Xiao Shing Wine
3    Tbs Dark Brown Sugar
5    Cloves of Garlic
3-4 Star Anise
6    Peppercorn
1/2 Tbs of Garlic Powder
1/2 Tbs of Onion Powder



Cut the PORK into 3-4 equal portions. Depending on the size of your slab. OR you could always cut the pork into cubes if you so desire.

In a deep pot, add the VEGETABLE OIL. When the oil is hot, sear the pork skin side down.

Add the GARLIC, SOY SAUCE, SUGAR, XIAO SHING WINE and WATER.

When the sauce begins to boil, add all the remaining ingredients. Bring to boil.

Put the lid on and reduce the heat to medium low.

After 2 hours. Ladle some of the sauce to a medium sauce pan and add 1 tbs of FLOUR mixed in 1/2 a cup of WATER to thicken. Stir for 3 minutes.

**All the ingredients here can be customize to fit the diners palate. So feel free to be a loosy-goosey on this one**

Serve on a bed of white rice and sprinkle some scallions or green onions on top.