Kumiage Yuba | Fresh Soy Milk Skins
Sakura Season 2018
On my way home after traveling for three weeks overloaded with all kinds of adventures in Japan, I’ve been trying to predict what was going to be my first meal in Texas. It was sukiyaki. I tricked my taste buds pretending my trip to Japan isn’t over, I guess. How about the first recipe on my website?
It takes time to process a shamelessly enormous amount of pictures after traveling for so long. The same is true for notes, even though capturing the moments on Instagram and Facebook was convenient and priceless. So, here I am, living my travel moments again in the Lightroom and in my kitchen.
Skin Under the Skin
Yesterday, I was talking to the owner of Asahi Imports: “It’s funny how my friends in Japan often hunt for western ingredients and food, and in the U.S. we do the opposite seeking Japanese.” Actually, it’s not the opposite. It’s the same. We want what we miss. With globalization and help of entrepreneurs who know that side of human nature (ethnic grocery stores rule!), we can indulge some of our cravings, though not all of them.
I say those are lucky who have never tasted certain delicacies because they don’t know what they are missing. If you didn’t enjoy eating fresh creamy and dreamy melt-in-your-mouth soy milk skins in Kyoto — kumiyage yuba — you obviously don’t miss it. With a tiny drop of freshly grated wasabi and diluted with dashi soy sauce for dipping, it is something to crave for. Fortunately, it is easy to make at home. But I am not going to mislead you. Unfortunately, it is VERY time-consuming and meditative. It works only if you have another pleasant and easy task to switch to every 5 minutes that soy milk needs to form a skin. I made yuba while processing tons of pictures from Japan. Setting a timer helps a lot.
нужно ли дуть на соевое молоко
The quality of soy milk matters. To successfully harvest soy milk skins you need a soy milk without additives. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find at stores. What is sold (even organic) is either flavored or has some kind of preservatives to prolong its shelf life. For that reason, I am including the step of making soy milk at home. If you are crazy enough to make yuba at home, you can start with making your own fresh soy milk as well, which is actually a piece of cake. Buy dry soybeans at any Asian grocery store, soak them overnight, puree them with water, cook for 10 minutes, and strain milk. Keep it refrigerated for later or start making the yuba right away. That’s it.
The size of cooking vessel matters. Now we need a frying pan with a large diameter. The larger the diameter, the larger the surface of soy milk to form a skin, the faster you make yuba. Fill the frying pan with the soy milk 1/2″ deep and place over low heat. The level of heat should keep the temperature of milk right below simmering point.
The timing matters. The longer you let a soy milk skin to form, the thicker and firmer it will be. We are talking about the difference between 3-5 minutes and 10-20 minutes per a skin. If you want it creamy, give it less time.
There is kumiyage (scooped) yuba and there is hikiage (pull-up) yuba. Both are fresh, but the second is let to drip excess soy milk and dry a little bit. Only then it is cut and rolled or folded. They have slightly different textures. If you want your yuba creamy, collect the skins into a container with a little bit of soy milk to be reabsorbed. Keep the container covered while harvesting the skins.
Fanning the milk doesn’t matter, proved by experiments.
Kumiage Yuba | Fresh Soy Milk Skins
Ingredients
for tonyu, fresh soy milk
- 1 cup soybeans dry, 1 cup = 185 g
- 3 cups water cold, for soaking
- 6.6 cups water for puree to cook, 6.6 cups = 1600 ml
for serving yuba, fresh soy milk skins
- 1 tsp wasabi
- 1 cup dashi
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp furikake
Instructions
- Soak soybeans 12-24 hours in a fridge and drain. They are soaked properly when skins are easy to remove.
- The amount of water for soaking should be three times the volume of beans.
- Measure water for cooking. Blend soaked soybeans in a blender adding some of that water on low speed.
- Transfer the soybean puree to a large pot. Heat soybean puree over medium-high heat. Stir the bottom with a spatula to prevent it from burning.
- When soybean mixture is nearly boiling, foam starts to build up. Note how high it can go. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat to low, and continue cooking for 8-10 minutes. Note how the aroma is changing during the cooking.
- Meanwhile, set up a bowl with a strainer lined with cloth or unscented paper towels. Strain soy milk.
- The solids in the strainer are called okara. Cover them with another paper towel and press out more milk.
- There you have warm and fresh soy milk, tonyu.
- Reserve okara for other cooking purposes.
for yuba
- In a frying pan, pour tonyu making it 1/2" deep and place over low heat. The level of heat should keep the temperature of milk right below simmering point. (On the picture, there is a fan on the left. Using it doesn't hurt, but it also doesn't make any difference.)
- Prepare a container where finished yuba will be placed and add some soy milk in it. Prepare chopsticks with a smooth surface for scooping the skins. Insert a chopstick, scoop up yuba, and release into the container. Continue until all soy milk is used.
- Store fresh yuba for up to 3 days in a fridge in a closed container. Serve it with dashi-diluted soy sauce and wasabi.
Notes
