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Tahu Kuning - Indonesian yellow tofu
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5 from 1 vote

How to Make Tofu

Find out how to make Tofu of all varieties. From soft to firm. From silken to dense ones. You can also make Tahu Kuning, the yellow Tofu the way the Indonesians do.
Prep Time10 minutes
Active Time40 minutes
Additional Time12 hours
Total Time12 hours 50 minutes
Course: Sundries
Yield: 13
Author: Devy Dar
Cost: $5-7

Equipment

  • Mixing bowls.
  • Blender.
  • Muslin cloth.
  • Cooking pan
  • Wooden spoon
  • Tofu mould.

Materials

For firm tofu:

  • 1 ½ cup dried organic soybeans.
  • 9 cups water, and extra for soaking.
  • 2 ½ teaspoons tofu coagulant/ calcium sulphate.
  • 1 teaspoon salt optional.

For soft Chinese tofu:

  • 1 ½ cups dried organic Soybeans.
  • 10 cups water, and extra for soaking.
  • 2 teaspoons tofu coagulant/ calcium sulphate for Chinese tofu, or

For silken Japanese tofu:

  • 1½ cups dried organic soyabeans.
  • 10 cups water, and extra for soaking.
  • 2 teaspoons tofu Nigari powder/ magnesium chloride

For yellow tofu:

  • 5 cups water.
  • 1 ½ teaspoons turmeric powder.
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander.
  • 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder.
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons salt.
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Wash and rinse the Soybeans. Then place them in a big mixing bowl and fill with plenty of water up to three-quarters of the bowl. Leave it to soak overnight.
  • On the next day, drain the Soybeans and rinse a few times. Using a blender, blend the beans with 9 cups of water for firm tofu, and 10 cups of water for soft tofu. Do this in 6 batches until all of the water is finished. Make sure you blend until you get smooth Soybeans mixture.
  • Put the mixture in a large cooking pan, attach your cooking thermometer on the side of the pan and turn the heat on at moderate-high. Take care and keep stirring so that the mixture will not get burned at the bottom of the pan. 
  • Keep an eye on the thermometer. Once the temperature reaches 100°C/ 212°F, turn the heat down and try to keep this temperature of 100°C/ 212°F for about 10 minutes. At the same time, continue stirring and mixing every now and again. 
  • If you’re making firm tofu and you like your tofu to have a bit of flavour, you can put half of a teaspoon of salt at this point. I do. But it is optional. Freedom of choice for you ?.
  • Then let the milk cool down to 80°C/ 176°F. Using a double folded muslin cloth, sieve the soya milk carefully as it is still hot. 
  • Quickly mix the coagulant/ calcium sulphate with ¼ cup/ 60 ml/ 2.11 fl. oz of water in a small bowl until the coagulant well dissolves. And pour it into your Soya milk. Stir it carefully but quickly making sure it’s all well mixed. Leave it to rest for about 10 minutes.
  • In the meantime, you can get your tofu mould and muslin cloth ready. Put the tofu in a basin or a deep baking tray. 
  • By now, your milk mixture will be slightly set, and there will be some transparent liquid set apart. Then slowly pour this tofu mixture over your mould that is lined with a muslin cloth. Fold the cloth to cover the tofu. Then put the mould lid on and put a weight on it for about 5 minutes. After that, you can take the weight off, and just leave the tofu to set. It usually takes me another 10-15 minutes before I can open the muslin cloth.

To make yellow tofu (Tahu Kuning ala Yun Yi):

  • Cut your firm tofu about 2-inches squares or triangles. Set aside.
  • In a large pan, boil 1 ¼ litre/ 42.27 fl. oz of water with turmeric powder, ground coriander, garlic powder and salt. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes before you put your tofu pieces in. 
  • Cook the tofu in the turmeric water and let it simmer for about 15 minutes from the moment the water reaches boiling point again. Then turn the heat off and leave the tofu in turmeric water overnight.
  • Next morning, you can discard the turmeric water and replace with fresh water if you have no plan to cook your tofu right away. 

Notes

  • The weight that you put on top of the lid will press the tofu mixture and help release its liquid. So, the heavier the weight you put, the more condensed your tofu texture will become. Also, the longer you put the weight on the lid, the firmer your tofu will be. The timing that I refer to in this tutorial is only a guide to getting firm tofu. 
  • If you want to make soft tofu, you can just simply use the proportion of the ingredients for soft tofu and use the same method above. However, don’t put weight on the mold lid for too long when you leave the tofu mixture to set.
  • To make yellow tofu, you have to use firm tofu. Else, tofu will break when you cook it in turmeric water.
  • Always double-fold your muslin cloth, so that the mixture will be really fine and smooth. 
  • To make Soya milk, you can follow the recipe method up to step 4. I personally find that the recipe for firm tofu will make a creamier Soya Milk that reminds me of the full whole milk. And the recipe for soft tofu will give me Soya Milk that resembles green semi-skimmed milk. It’s kinda lighter.