Between G’s pregnancy and related respiratory issues, the list of foods that she should avoid is quite long and includes basic staples like chicken and dairy products. As an alternative to cow milk, she’s been drinking more soy, which has comparable levels of protein but significantly less calcium. Manufacturers of soy drinks do add vitamins, calcium, to enrich their products but also include chemical additives with unknown effects on pregnancy . So instead of buying our soy milk at the store, we’ve been enjoying it homemade courtesy of our family friend H.
The home version is way better than any store bought variety and really only takes about an hour of actual labor.
Here’s what you’ll need (makes approx 4-5 litres of soy milk):
- 1 kg soy beans
- 1 blender
- 2 or more cheesecloths
- pandan leaves (optional)
- raw cane sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the soy beans for a few hours (preferably overnight), drain and rinse and add enough water to cover the beans.
- Scoop enough beans and water to fill the blender 3/4 and thoroughly blend. Take care to not add too much water.
- Sieve the soy slurry through a cheesecloth
- Strain the soy milk again into a large pot
- Repeat steps 2-4 with the rest of the beans
At this point you will now have some soy milk and the leftover pulp known as okara. You should reuse the okara at least twice and repeat steps 2-4 to extract more milk. Optionally, you can continue a third time to produce even more milk but the end product will come out much more dilute and similar to store-bought versions (hint hint).
Slowly bring the pot of soy milk to a boil and cook away the raw soy bean flavor. If you have pandan leaves handy, adding them will give the soy milk an additional nutty fragrance without being overpowering. You can also add raw cane sugar to taste if you’re wanting a sweetened drink. Be careful to watch the pot as the milk will foam when boiling, and also be sure to either stir occasionally or heat slowly to prevent the bottom from burning.
