Make Your Own: Soy Milk

Today's guest blog is coming from Haley! She's another expat living here in China. Thanks for sharing with all of us, Haley! If you are interested in other non-dairy milks, check out this post on making your own Almond Milk. 

The Why and How of Making Your Own Soy Milk

When we moved to East Asia about a year and a half ago with three kiddos ages 5 and under we had lots of transition and adjustments to make.  Thankfully, we fell in love with the culture, the people, and the food here!  One thing I missed though was the dairy.  Chinese people just don’t do dairy like Americans.  Where’s the cheese, butter, cow’s milk, and yummy icing on their pretty cakes (if you have had the icing on their pretty cakes. . . it’s just not the same right?)!  Maybe that’s why so many people here are all so skinny! 

We started out buying the fresh milk from the store for somewhere between 11-14 RMB for a little quart of milk.  That would mean you are paying about $8-$12/gallon! Not too affordable for us, and it seemed to go bad quickly. . . Once we got set up on Taobao, we started buying Nestle brand powdered milk.  We would just make and keep in the fridge.  You could make smaller amounts so it wouldn’t go bad, and it was more cost effective.  You can get 300g for 14.9 RMB.  We usually just made a couple of cups at a time, but the price per gallon ended up being about . . . I don’t remember and can’t do that math in my head right now, but it was cheaper!  Here is the link we used if you are interested in that route.

Then we decided we actually liked the local soy milk after having it with some friends.  They helped us buy a soy milk machine (dou4 jiang1 ji1 豆浆机) off this Taobao link.*

We buy the soybeans (huang2 dou4 黄豆) from the market.  SOOOOO inexpensive . . after it’s all said and done we are talking $0.25/gallon of soy milk.  That’s really how we ended up choosing soy milk.  And it’s always somewhat of a good feeling to know you actually made something from buying it from a market more than just buying it out of the store (even though it was really the machine that made it – but you get the point)  This is the model we have if you wanted to search it on Taobao - Joyoung/九阳 DJ12B-A10. But there are tons of different models – there are even some that are self-cleaning.  

Some people question the safety of soy milk because of the naturally occuring phytoestrogens that it contains. There is a lot of research out going both ways. . . My philosophy is “Everything the Father made is good in moderation.”  So, we don’t drink 8 cups a day. . . but we do drink/use it everyday. 

We buy the dry beans at the market, take the scooper that comes with the machine and fill it about ¾ full.  You can do a full scoop, but we think this helps the “soy taste” not be so strong. 

Then we pour that in a bowl and cover it with water over night (about 8-12 hours or. . . until we are ready to use it.  It doesn’t affect the beans or how the milk will turn out).  

When we are ready to make the milk, we drain the water and pour the soaked beans into the soy milk machine.  Inside the machine has 2 different “fill” lines that are pretty close.  We just fill up to the middle of the 2 lines.  The lower line could make your milk stronger, the higher level could make it thinner. Put the lid on and select the third option from the left 干豆 gan1 dou4 (even though they have been soaked, I know).  

The soy milk will be made from grinding and boiling the soaked soybeans in water.  It only takes about 20 minutes! Soy milk is naturally high is essential fatty acids, proteins, fiber, and vitamins and minerals.  While it does not contain as much calcium as milk, it does contain calcium too! 

When finished it will be hot!  So if you want it chilled for breakfast or something, you need to make it in advance and put in the fridge. You will strain the little fibrous remains from soybean with the strainer they give you, and then just wash the machine.  It’s just two pieces (top and bottom), so it’s very quick and easy to clean. 

When we first starting making soy milk, we would add 3 Tbs. of honey and a splash of vanilla to sweeten it, but since I was also using it for baking. . . it was affecting the taste of biscuits (etc.), so we actually just started making it plain. We use it in smoothies, cereal, oatmeal, biscuits, pancakes, desserts, etc.  I’m not going to lie. . . I don’t care for the flavor enough to drink it by itself, but IN something the flavor is not a problem!  The kids don’t mind it either.  

If you are looking for a cost effective substitute for cow’s milk, I would encourage you to go this route! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments. 

**Also, you don’t have to buy a separate soy milk machine if you already have a good blender.  You can just soak the beans, blend them (with water) and boil the strained liquid.  But we have never done it this way so just google the precise instructions if you want to make soy milk that way.