Fresh soy milk is one of life’s simplest pleasures. Drinking some fresh and still warm from the pot takes me back to hawker breakfasts where I love to order a glass of ‘Michael Jackson’ (soy milk with grass jelly in it). You really don’t need a recipe for soy milk. There is really only one key ingredient – soybeans, soaked then blended with water. More water will yield a thicker, richer soy milk. There are many variations of soy milk throughout Asia, but my preference is to infuse the soy milk with pandan leaves and sweeten it ever so slightly with rock sugar. The pulp leftover from soy milk can be repurposed into falafels, added to pancake batters or deep-fried with minced garlic and scattered on top of seafood, typhoon-shelter style.
Soy milk
300g dried soybeans, rinsed, drained
2.5L water
4 pandan leaves, knotted
60g rock sugar
- Soak soybeans 24h at room temperature in a liberal amount of water.
- Drain the soybeans.
- Grind the soybeans with 2.5L water in batches, adding the last bit of water to wash the blender out.
- Pour into a pot and add the pandan leaves. Heat over medium high, stirring, until it boils.
- Strain and squeeze through a nut milk bag while it is hot to ensure maximum yield.
- Cook again 10min, low heat, with pandan leaves and rock sugar.