Marinated Sweet Soy Bean in Soy 鹵黃豆

When I was a kids, these soy beans were sold in a small package as a snacks. They are sweet and salty, and they give a satisfying chewiness. For sure, they made a tasty and healthy snacks. Now, I make them as a side dish, accompanying them with steamed rice for lunch or dinner. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Soy Beans

1 cup Light Soy Sauce

1 cup Sugar

2 cups Water

DIRECTION:

1. Rinse soy beans. Soak them for at least 8 hours or overnight. Discard the ones float on the surface. Drain well.

2. In a large pot, add soy beans. Add sugar, soy sauce, and water. Bring it to a boil over high heat. 

3. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Leave the pot half opened. Continuously boil the beans until the liquid  becomes very sticky; about an hour. Skim out the foam on the surface if necessary.

4. Turn off the heat. Allow the beans to cool. Store them in an air-tight container in the fridge. It can last for about 3 weeks.

Homemade Tofu Step-by-Step (using vinegar) 自製豆腐

INGREDIENTS:

 6 Soy Beans (dried)

Water *(see the note in step 2)

3 tablespoons Vinegar + 5 tablespoons Water

DIRECTION:

1. Soak the soy beans in water over night, or at least 10 hours.  Discard the water and rinse the beans; drain again.

2. With the ratio of 1 part of soaked soy beans to 3 parts of water, process until it becomes soy puree.

3. Make sure the puree as smooth as possible.

4. Place a tea towel in a strainer and then set a pot underneath the strainer (like the picture above).

5. Pour the soy puree onto the towel.

6. Wrap up the towel.  Twist to squeeze the soy milk out of the towel.

7. Save the soy pulp for other recipes.  It is delicious and healthy.

8. Heat up the filtered soy milk over medium heat; stirring constantly.  Skim off the foam and bubbles on the surfaces. 

9. Turn off the heat and allow the soy milk to cool to about 90C.  I didn't use thermometer.  I just left the soy milk to cool for about 10 minutes.

Add the vinegar and water mixture gently into the soy milk.  The more gentle the vinegar is mixed in, the softer the tofu will become.

10. Immediately, you can see the soy milk starts to curd.

11. Bring the whole pot to a boil.  This process helps speed up and strengthen the curdling process.  After 1-2 minutes, you should see clearly that the curds and the liquid are separated.  Turn off the heat.

12. If you are making tofu anytime soon, but you don't want to use vinegar.  You can save this yellowish liquid from the curd and ferment it for 48 hours before the next tofu making.  This liquid can improve the taste of tofu.

13. Place the tea towel in a strainer again.  Pour the curd over it.  Gently squeeze out the liquid as much as possible.

14. Twist and towel into a ball and set it inside a small bowl for at least 1.5 hours before slicing  it.

15. If you are not using it that day, refrigerate the tofu with the towel.  It can last up to 3 days.

16. The more liquid you squeeze out, the firmer the tofu will become.  I like mine is  medium.

17. To serve, drizzle sesame oil, marin, soy sauce and roasted sesame seeds.

Mapo Dofu (Tofu) 麻婆豆腐

INGREDIENTS:

2 blocks Tofu

1.5 lbs Ground Pork

3 heap tablespoons Soy Bean Paste

4 tablespoons Water

2/3 teaspoon Salt

2 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Corn Starch

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Green Onion (if prefer)

DIRECTION:

Oven Baked Crispy Chicken Thigh (using black bean pulp)

When making soy milk, there is always some side product - soy pulp.  This pulp not only has a high amount of protein fibre, it is also delicious.  You can use it to make meat balls, cookies, and also replace bread crumbs.

Two days ago I got lots of black bean pulp after making soy milk.  So I mixed the pulp with some seasoning and used it as bread crumbs.  The result is crispy and delicious.  If you want a change for the use of bread crumbs, try to think of this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

8 Chicken Thighs, skin-on

1 Egg, beaten

2-3 tablespoons Cornstarch

Vegetable Oil

MARINADE:

2 tablespoons Cumin, ground

2 tablespoons Soy Sauce

2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1/2 teaspoon White Pepper Powder

1/3 teaspoon Sugar

1/3 teaspoon Salt

BLACK BEAN PULP SEASONING:

1.5 cups Black Bean Pulp

1/3 teaspoon Salt

1/3 teaspoon Paprika

1/2 teaspoon Cumin, ground

1/4 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper

DIRECTION:

1. Rinse the chicken thighs; pat dry.  Combine the chicken with the marinade; mix well.  Leave it to marinate for 30 minutes.

2. In the mean time, add all the black bean pulp seasoning ingredients in a pan.  Slowly toast the ingredients over medium-low heat until the mixture is dry.  The pulp may initially stick to the pan; scape it with a spatula if needed.  Allow the pulp to cool.

3. Coat each chicken thigh with a thin layer of cornstarch.  Then coat it with the bean egg.  Last, coat it with the toasted bean pulp.  Gently lay the chicken on parchment paper on a roasting pan.

4. Roast the chicken in the pre-heat oven at 360F for 25 minutes, or until the chicken thighs cooked through.