Crispy Fried Tofu from John Sherck, Indiana's own Simply Staples Chef

Straight from the kitchen of John Sherck, Indiana's own Simply Staples Chef, comes this easy recipe for Crispy Fried Tofu using your homegrown soybeans in a tasty and nutritious way.

Ingredients & Equipment

• soy milk maker, tofu press, cheesecloth, kitchen scale, container for soaking soybeans, thermometer for liquids, measuring cup(s) for 50ml & 1 quart, pot for 1 quart, ladle/scoop, skillet and oil for frying, (optional: food dehydrator to make okara flakes)
• 3 ounces dry soybeans (John used his homegrown Shinonome soybeans)
• nigari - a natural coagulant (John uses 50 ml per quart of soy milk)

Directions

1. Soak the soybeans in water for 4 hours.
2. Drain water and follow the instructions of your soy milk maker to transform the soaked soybeans into soy milk.
3. Transfer 1 quart soy milk to a pot to cool to 176°F.
4. Add 50 ml nigari to soy milk and allow 20 minutes for okara (curds) to form
5. Scoop the okara curds into your cheesecloth lined tofu press.
   
6. Maintain ~5 lbs of weight for at least 20 minutes on tofu press to separate the whey liquid from the okara.
7. After 20 minutes, you'll have a block of tofu (~ 5¼ ounces), 8 ounces of okara, and 1 pint of whey.
8. Slice tofu and fry in a small amount of oil to desired level of crispyness. (I have also successfully air-fried tofu after lightly coating it with cornstarch.)
9. The soy whey is delicious and nutritious as a warm beverage.
10. John dehydrates the fresh okara at 135 °F for about 4 hours. At 25% - 28% protein, 10% oil, and 50% fiber (both insoluble and soluble), dehydrated okara is used in baking, as a topping for hot cereals, or as an additive in your favorite burger recipe (meat or veggie!) He notes that while fresh okara is quite bitter, dehydrating it removes its bitterness.
    

Start - 3 ounces of dry soybeans

Step 1 - soak soybeans in water for at 4 hours

Step 2 - follow directions of soy milk maker to make soy milk

Steps 3&4 - self-explanatory, no pictures needed

Step 5 - transfer okara to cheesecloth lined tofu press

Step 6 - weighted tofu press separates whey from okara (as you can see you can be creative with what you use as a weight)

Step 7 - your fresh block of homemade tofu from your homegrown soybeans (YAY!), ready for slicing and frying

Crispy Fried Tofu - Woohoo! (I bet a little homemade, homegrown salsa would go well with these!)

Curds & Whey that'll make a certain little miss take notice! The additional goodies from tofu pressing process

Step 10 - dehydrated okara

We extend a hearty thank you to John Sherck for this inspirational inaugural recipe of the Simply Staples Chef Collection, perfectly suited for your self-reliant homestead. You can look forward to more of these wonderful DIY's throughout the "winter creative phase" of our partnership.