Tofu (or tokwa) making should be a major industry in the Philippines since it can be a cheap source of protein. Medical research has shown that one of the main causes of the hardening of the arteries is meat eating which aggravates the condition of the heart due to the deposition of cholesterol in the blood vessels. However, since soy bean protein approaches the quality of meat protein, people turned to vegetarianism and they depend much on soybean protein. Tokwa or Tofu is a very rich source of protein.
The following procedures show how to make tofu:
- Soak soybeans overnight.
- The next day, remove as much skin as possible.
- Grind the soaked soybean with water in the ratio of 1:3, soybeans to water.
- Strain in a cheesecloth.
- Boil the milk.
- Add immediately the coagulant to the newly boiled soy milk.
- When the coagulation is complete transfer to a wooden mold lined with cheese cloth. Be sure that the wooden molds have holes on the sides and bottom to drain the water out.
- Apply pressure on the molded soybean curd under the folded cheesecloth on the top of the curd to drain the water faster. Apply light pressure to obtain soft cheese and heavy pressure to obtain harder cheese. The yield of soybean curd from 100 pounds of dry soybean is about 350 pounds.
Coagulants:
Magnesium chloride, magnesium sulfate, calcium chloride, citric acid (1 percent solution) and vinegar (4 percent acid) may be used as coagulants. Even though vinegar and citric acid are sour, the curds prepared from them are not sour so long as only the right amount is used.
Note: Tofu is also called “tokwa” in Filipino. A premium cheapest source of protein
