Hello again…remember me? I’ve missed you! I feel like a long, overdue library book. Instead of the late fee, I owe you a few posts. Let me make it up to you.
First things first. Life’s been occupied with stuffy airplane cabins and security checkpoints lately. Before unpacking from NYC was complete, we were packing up again for the North Shore of Kauai. It’s hard to find fault (of any kind) with a place where ALL DAY wave watching is an acceptable, if not mandatory, national pastime. A rite of passage on becoming a true local. After having our fill of fresh coconuts, rambutans and dragon fruit, we bottled up the Aloha spirit and headed home. Unfortunately, Seattle morphed into Siberia while we were gone. Talk about a rude, frigid awakening. We hunkered down, and conjured up vats of soup and dozens of cookies, as we waited for our limbs to defrost.
Now that feeling has mostly returned in my fingertips, I’m mitten-free and ready to go again. First up: fresh homemade soy milk. Growing up in a Chinese/Vietnamese household, soy milk was a staple. I’ve never been able to acclimate to the taste of soy milk from brands found at your friendly neighborhood supermarket. They embody a strange, metallic taste I can’t shake, and frankly, makes me shudder. If there is someone you love in this life, make this soy milk for them. Jammed with nutrition, loads of protein and zero cholesterol – it’s the stuff long lives are made of. Not to mention, it’s plain delicious. Creamy, nutty, with a hint of sweetness. Your lattes and cereals will never be the same again. Skim, 1%, and 2%? Bu-bye! Those words will no longer be a part of your vocabulary. Which frees up room for more important words like love, affection and peace. A few whirls in your blender, some cheese cloth, and you’re basically good to go. It might not be as fun as wave watching, but it’s pretty damn close. Drink up!
FRESH HOMEMADE ORGANIC SOY MILK
Kiss My Spatula’s version of her childhood soy milk, yields about 5 cups
I buy dried organic soy beans in bulk at our local Island grocery store. 16 oz. sets you back $1.25 or so and produces almost 30 cups of milk! How can you beat that? Fresh soy milk can be covered and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Music Pairing: The Cure, Just Like Heaven
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dried organic yellow soy beans
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 cup granulated sugar, plus more to taste
Method
Rinse dried soy beans thoroughly and drain. Soak in cold water overnight in a large bowl. Drain again. Pick through beans and remove those that have not expanded and softened.
Put soybeans and 2 1/2 cups of water in a blender. Cover lid tightly and puree until smooth and milky. Transfer the puree to a large stockpot and add 3 additional cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly and skimming off foam, as necessary. Turn heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 25 minutes.
Strain milk through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a bowl, pressing on soybeans to squeeze as much liquid out as possible. Stir in salt and sugar, adding more sugar to taste. Serve piping hot or ice cold.
Looks delicious! Love the photos too, gorgeous clean and white. I’ll have to give this a go, didn’t realise that it was so easy to make!
Good to see you back! I’m glad you have enjoyed your travels, I would love to sit and watch those waves too or if they weren’t too large even get in for a surf! One day I will venture over that way for a surfing holiday.
I have never liked soy milk, no matter how many brands I have tried but maybe the key it to my own, it sounds like it tastes very different to shop bought. Thanks for the recipe.
hi peasepudding! we had 50 foot waves while we were there, so it was quite a spectacle watching the locals do their magic. i think you’d love it. as for the soy milk, i hope you’ll give it a shot!
Aww.. I love homemade soy milk! this is definitely better than skimmed milk. fresh and original ;)
Hey there. I was so excited to see a new post from you in the reader ! – It’s good to hear that you had a good time on Kauai. I lived in Halalei for a bit right out of college, (winters when I was living full time in the Bay Area). Beautiful place. I miss it sometimes – but while there I discovered that I need more than coconuts and ‘end of the road’ sunsets. There must be something wrong with me…
Welcome back! And what a recipe you have come out swinging with… I am so curious. Never have I tried to make homemade soy milk. I am almost scared to do it because I know I will never go back to cartons again. But of course – curiosity is my middle name. I will be sipping it soon.
Nice to hear your voice again..
Michaela
michaela! we stay at a beachfront cottage right on hanalei bay every time we go. my love proposed to me on that very beach, so it holds a special place in our hearts. curiosity is a good thing! let me know if you enjoy the sips.
I will have to give this a test. We use soy milk all the time, and I really wouldn’t know the difference between what I drink, I just know that we’ve managed to find a brand we both like and is fairly inexpensive. This would be a great way to cut out that expense all together.
hi kate! the savings is remarkable, isn’t it? plus, the added bonus of knowing exactly what your milk is made of is priceless.
How neat! I didn’t know the process of making soy milk would be so simple! I bet freshly homemade soy milk also tastes that much better!
I used to drink a lot of soy milk until I realized how much sugar and other unpronounceable ingredients are in most commercial soy milks. This on the other hand seems perfect. Adding it to my list! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I’ve been wanting to make fresh soy milk. Do you have a recipe for tofu? (Love the photos)
hi ania! tofu recipe to come soon. stay tuned! send my love to michael.
Welcome back, mitten and thermals free girl…..Lovely photos. Childhood drinks are wonderful memory holders aren’t they. Sometimes, I want to go back to Nigeria purely for one of them – horchata, made from tiger nuts. Anyway….life goes on in Snowy Netherlands! Lots of Love
kitchen butterfly! ohhhh…horchata. i’ve never tried, but would love to. where does one get tiger nuts? hope you’re keeping warm!
I had no idea making soy milk could be so easy.
I will try very hard not to be jealous of your Hawaiian getaway and just say Welcome Back! instead. (and hey look, You have a new header!) This soy milk is so inspiring! I am wondering – do you think I could substitute some other kind of sweetener for the granulated? One of my goals for the new year is to cut out white sugar whenever possible. I wonder if you have any thoughts on this?
hi shannalee! hmm….good question. i’ve never tried, but maybe just salt and a splash of almond extract?
OK, cool. Thanks!
Welcome back! I cannot wait to try this – it sounds amazingly delish!
growing up, I was the one how had to squeeze, squeeze and squeeze the milk in the mesh sleeve from the pulp when my mom made this. now she doesn’t need me anymore as there’s a machine that grinds and spits the pulp out a chute and the juice goes into a separate chute…i’ve been displaced by technology…oh well.. :)
Holy cow, those photos are incredible! I love reading about things I would never have considered. We always have soy milk on hand in our house, I’m inspired to try my own.
I wanted to know how long the soy milk lasts for! I love the taste of freshly made soymilk (the store brought brands do taste kinda funny)…
We did miss you. I remember dad used to make soy milk at now. Now that he’s gone, nobody does. Thanks for the reminder. My brother would be jealous because once he drinks a glass, he would be suffering without the next day. :D
I’ve been in hiatus myself these last few months….its tough keeping up with it all!
Your photos are so beautiful! I can’t believe you are making your own soy milk! How clever!
I have a soymilk maker and fresh soymilk does taste much better in addition to being very inexpensive. It’s one of those well-kept secrets…
i just found you via old sweet song. love your blog…and i want to try making my own soy milk.
Just found your website through StumbleUpon, thumbs up. I can’t wait to try to make my own (fresh!!!) soy milk!
Beautiful soy milk. I wanted to try my hand at making soy milk this summer when we had fresh edamame from the garden, but the recipe we have requires so many beans that I never seemed to have enough on hand. Using dry beans makes so much more sense, and you produced SO MUCH milk from so few beans that I’m amazed. This is certainly the way to go. Welcome back!
Welcome back! And what a gorgeous treat of a post — your photos are always such an inspiration and truly reveal food as art.
Wow… that’s so simple, and it would never’ve occurred to me to do this! Thanks for a great post and welcome back!
Nice! It has been awhile but good to hear that you are well. I love homemade soy milk and Mister is good at making it into the beancurd too.
Welcome back!
Looks very fresh and delicious! I always love the soyamilk :)
i am a organic farmer and i grow soybeans in south east Wisconsin. my father loves soy milk and was asking me how it is made and i did not know till i had read this. he will love to make our own soy milk from our organic soybeans that we have grown. what a blessing to be able to finaly make our own soy milk wow thank you so very much!!!!!!!!!
Great recipe and so simple too! Looking forward making this in the future.
Wow!! Delicious!!!
Since I will be using organic soy beans, I would like to see what other suggestions there are for the sweetener (besides processed sugar). Anybody?
Thanks
hi sharon – though i’ve never tried these, other options include yacon syrup, agave, brown rice syrup or stevia.
I love this! I had no idea soy milk was so easy to make! Definitely going to have to try this. Fresh sounds so, so delicious!
[…] other day I ran across a recipe from kissmyspatula for making homemade soymilk. I’m a little lactose intolerant, but soymilk from the store […]
Absolutely gorgeous photography here. Really lovely.
This sounds so simple. Could I follow the same steps if I wanted to make a almond milk?
umm food, simply omit the rinsing and soaking. simmer almonds for about an hour, until tender and proceed as above.
[…] the thing is this blog, and this soy milk. Go there, and make it right now and wonder why you ever bought that crap at the market, even if it […]
[…] made my first batch the other day, using directions posted on Kiss My Spatula. The blog is written by Giao, who describes her food as “simple, seasonal, local and […]
I have waited so long, too long to find your site and this recipe! We spend so much money on purchasing soy milk. Well, never again thanks to you!
[…] to try to stay away from milk more now, since it’s really not that good for you. I have made soy milk, but the healthiness of that has been debatable too. I think I am just going to switch it up […]
When I read this post, I was brought back to my childhood days when my mum tried to force feed us with her abundant homemade soy milk. I used to run away and make funny faces because I hated the taste. How could I be so silly back then? Now the only time I can have homemade soy milk is when I have to make it myself :(
I’ve just made this milk and am currently sipping on a seaming hot glass of it. The words that come to mind are, simply delicious…no…HEAVENLY!
Thank you!
ps. great song pairing :)
Hi Lin, so glad to hear you are blissfully sipping away! Heavenly is a perfect way to describe it! Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend. Love, G.
Im curious to know how much sugar you all added in? The first time I tried it I used 1/8 cup of sugar, and lets just say it wasnt kid or hubby approved due to the lack of sweetness. Im trying it again but am thinking of doubling the sugar…
Is sugar necessary to make soy milk, or is it a preference?
I have always wondered how to do this, thank you!
You’re officially my new blog crush. I’ve been perusing your site for awhile and I love it. I wish I had your skill at food photography.
I love this! Thanks
I am so excited to try this…the soybeans are chilling in cold water as I write!
For anyone who cares about calories, this recipe yields about 120 calories per cup. Not bad!! And the fact that it’s cheaper than buying the carton is wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing!
I just made your recipe for soy milk and we love it. It is so easy and inexpensive to make. I will be making this regularly a few times a week for my family. I do have a question though. What do people do with the leftover ground beans? It seems like such a waste to throw them away. To me they taste like almonds, so I was wondering if I could use them in recipes that call for almonds, adding a little almond extract?
Cilantro
found your blog through design sponge and reading through your posts. when we were gifted a blender, this is the first thing my mom and i made! we used chinese rock sugar instead of regular sugar (might be the same as western rock sugar??). now that she’s gone, i haven’t had any homemade soy milk in a long time. i’m so excited to try this recipe! thanks for sharing this.
this looks so delicious! i really can’t wait to try it. i used to drink soy milk from the store all the time, but it scares me all these reports about estrogen problems. but i’m sure this is alot healthier than store bought! can you do anything with the pureed soybeans that remain on the strainer after the milk is removed? i’d hate to just throw em away. maybe use them for some kind of body scrub or even in oatmeal?
I found this link on a comment you left on another blog (whose attempt at making soy milk was rather disappointing – according to her).
Thank you for presenting such a clear and concise way of making soy milk at home. I look forward to having a go myself. Thinking I might try sweetening it with soaked dates. :)
Glad to have found you blog.
Cheers, Nina
Thank you so much for posting this recipe..i was in China for 8 years and not only was i able to buy fresh soy milk..i had a great machine to make it as well
However, on returning to Canada, i found that the machines were a little over the top for my budget and so have been trying to make my own..
Finding this site and your recipe on line is wonderful..
I keep the left over pulp, process it in a little magic bullet with garlic or mesquite spice..it is a great dip for veggies.
I also eat it plain with feta cheese, sliced up tomatoes and greek spices..it is very versatile
Thanks again
>
Who would have know that there are so many ways to make soy milk – I’ve looked through endless recipes and this struck me to be the most straight forward, plain and simple one, validating my belief that it would have to be easy to do – and your statement “Growing up in a Chinese/Vietnamese household,…” was somehow the clincher… I guess I pictured your mom expertly commanding the kitchen over steaming pots and flashing pans… So your credentials tipped the scale.
Just to share with you my first experiment fresh off the stove about 30 min ago…:
Dried organic non-gmo soy beans soaked for 24 hours and rinsed a couple of times – I didn’t have time until tonight, so they stayed a bit longer.
Boiled some water
Poured the beans in my Vitamix blender (which is the best!!)
Poured in some hot water
Blended on super-turbo high for a couple of minutes
(Added a little oat flakes as I read somewhere they would provide a nice consistency and thicken the milk a little)
Poured the mixture in a pot with some more water – I eyeballed the whole thing
Added some salt and let it simmer away
After about 25-30 mins
Added a little vanilla and sweetened it with about three tabelspoons of Agave Nectar
Holy mole – the best freaking soymilk I ever had – Woke up the misses just so she could taste it…
So thanks for the inspiration and demystification!
if you add some white short grain rice, the soy milk comes out unbelievably milky and smooth.