Yamako Tofu Maker Kit HINOKI #82597 by Tofu Kit

First time using and I love the press. My biggest complaint (nothing to do with the product) is that I scoured the web for recipes and they are all over the place with quantities. The challenge with this product is the instructions are only in Japanese. After reading and watching MANY recipes, here's what I did: 2 cups dried beans, soaked overnight in 6 cups water (6-8 hours) Drain and blend 1 cup beans per 3 cups water and add to pot - there's a lot of foam with this way, I will try other methods in the future Bring to boil and remove from heat, skim foam, put back on heat for 10 minutes - stir CONSTANTLY the whole time Pour mixture into strainer bag - I used a 2 cup Pyrex - it's hot, so work in batches and use a bowl inside a bowl to press the liquid out. Reserve the pulp for other uses (so I read - makes sense tho) Return liquid to pot, bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes Move off heat; mix the liquid Nigari with 1/4 cup cold water Let mixture sit for 15 minutes - skim the "skin" off and save to eat or for soup - it's like a skin of tofu Give the soy milk a quick stir and pour coagulant into pot; stir a few times and let sit for 15 minutes Gently scoop into mold, cover, and weigh down - weight depends on your preference - I used an 8" cast iron until the top of the mold recessed, then used 2 quarts of liquid in jars for a total of 25 minutes; I like firmer tofu so after checking and draining, put a small jar on top of the lid with my cast iron for another 20 minutes Set in cold water for 20 minutes to remove the bitterness (this info came from various videos) Haven't tried it yet, but it smells delicious and the texture is what I was hoping for Tofu looks a little yellow - maybe bc the mold is brand new? Forgot to weigh the brick but I'm guessing is maybe 18-20oz?? Hope this helps!

I love this tofu maker kit. I have tried to make tofu for six years with inconsistent results. I have found the secret is the liquid Nigari that came with this kit, I always used the dried form before because it was less expensive. So far it has produced perfect results. I am so excited to at last be making professional quality tofu and it tastes Sooooo much better than store bought. It has a really sweet and delicate flavor. This is my fifth tofu press that I have bought and it is my favorite so far. The smell of the cypress (cedar?) wood smells divine when you pour the hot tofu paste into the mold. It makes my whole kitchen smell like a conifer forest. Lovely! An added plus is that it comes with a milk bag and two, not one, muslin cloths. This unit is pricey but well made and I hope will be around for a long time. You can make tofu in any kind of mold but this makes the experience a little bit special. Have patience after ordering because it takes a long time to ship from Japan. This is not a Best Buy, but it has become the first kit I grab when I go to make tofu every week.

The instructions come in Japanese with absolutely no translations. I followed a youtube video to make tofu and the mold works perfectly! I soaked it in water with rice vinegar for a day before use and that gave it a nice aroma but have no idea if that was necessary. Seems well constructed and hope it will last a long time.

Very happy about this Tofu Maker! Making tofu is fun! Gorgeous taste! Nothing compared to store bought tofu! Homemade tastes sweet and nutty and fresh, reminds me of freshly made cottage cheese. I took pictures of included instructions and used electronic translator to translate the instruction to English if anyone is interested... ------------------------------------------------------------- How to make delicious tofu with natural bittern Except for soaking soybeans in water, it will be completed in about 1.5 hours ☆ You can also make tofu from soy milk from tofu shop or supermarket. Tools to prepare: Mixer Muck Large bowl Cooking thermometer Wooden spatula large pan (convenient to have 2) Measuring cap Ladle Preparation: 2 cups of soybeans (about 300 g) are washed thoroughly, and soaked in tripled volume water for 8 to 9 hours in summer, 15 hours in spring and autumn, and 20 hours in winter season. Coagulant for tofu is made by dissolving 2 bags of coagulant with 50 ml of hot water. 1. Divide pre-soaked soybeans in freshwater into 3 batches and blend them in a blender for about 2 minutes. The blender will work better with small batches. 2. In a large deep pan, boil 6.5 cups of water and grinned soybeans. Stir softly and constantly with a spatula. When the foam forms on top and it starts boiling, reduce the heat and boil for 8 to 10 minutes. 3. Pour boiled mixture into in a large bowl using cloth bag and squeeze it. Squeezed liquid is soy milk. The soy solids remained in the bag is Ocala. (since it is hot, squeeze it by pressing against the bowl using chopsticks or spatula). Finally wet the hand with water and squeeze well) 4. Transfer the soybean milk that was squeezed out to a pan and warm it on a low heat, to about 80°C (175°F). ☆ (When the temperature is too low, it will not coagulate. If it is too high, it coagulate too quickly, so it tends to be hard tofu, so be careful). At this time, the thin film that covers the surface is called yuba 5. Transfer the heated soymilk to the bowl quickly and gradually add the bittern (prepared coagulant) to the soy milk while stirring soymilk gently and gradually. Then let it cool for about 15 minutes. 6. Lay the finishing cloth into the tofu maker in which tofu is solidified and scoop the mixture in. * As liquids come out, do it in a sink 7. Cover the top with the edges of the finishing cloth, cover it with a lid, place some weight on top. Leave it for about 15 minutes to drain the liquids. (The weight of heavy stones should be 500g to 800g, even if putting 500 ml of water in the jar is OK) 8. When the tofu is set, gently pull the tofu brick out from the box, transfer it in the finishing cloth into the water and remove the finishing cloth. After 30 minutes making tofu is done. Keep it in the refrigerator and enjoy it as soon as possible. Recipes of making tofu may differ depending on commentaries and books. Try to make it several times to grasp the trick yourself. There are nutritional elements remain in Okara (soy solids after squeezing soy milk). Let's make a healthy original dish by adding various ingredients to Ocara. Ocara preservation method: put divided batches in containers with a lids, freeze and use when necessary. Recipes with Okara: 1. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan and stir in 2/3 cup of bread crumbs, chopped onion and 1/2 cup of milk. Form 300 grams of beef into a ball, add 70 g of Okara, 1 egg, prepared onions and breadcrumbs, nutmeg, pepper, salt. Using your hands, oil it well and make 4 balls. Press it into patties and coat with flour. Heat butter and oil in a pot and bake/fry the patties. Turn over when turning light brown, put on the lid, and continue cooking on low heat. 2. Wash, peel and boil 3 potatoes (yams?). Mash them. Fry chopped onion with 1 tbsp butter, stir in 250 g of minced meat and fry it. Add 100 g of Ocala and cook with salt and pepper. Mix with the mashed potatoes, let it cool well. Make a ball, divide into 8 pieces, coat in wheat flour, beaten egg. Fry in oil. ◆ Hinoki wood is also used for buildings of shrines and temples. Hinoki wood has noble fragrance and attractive surface. It has antimicrobial properties! It is also strong in water. It is said that essential oils contained in Hinoki improve elastic durability, have sterilization and insecticidal effect and it is probably wise that people used hinoki for kitchen utensils ● Before you start using! Please wash with water once before use. ● Even though the tofu maker was kept and used properly, if something like dirt or sticky stuff appeared, it is the resin contained in the tree oozed out. I call this a Yani. It is natural and harmless. It is said that Hinoki wood is strong. If you are wish, please scratch Yani with sandpaper, or wipe it with ethanol (available at a pharmacy etc). ● Hand wash after use! ① If you don't use tofu maker for long period of time, aging of wood might deform and discolor the tofu maker earlier. Wash after use before storage! Please dry it quickly, wipe and dry well in the shade. Keep it in dry and dark place. Please do not store your tofu maker in a plastic bag. If fungus has occurred or wood darkened, please rub it with rice vinegar and rinse it well with water. As it may cause discoloration, please do not use synthetic detergent. ② Care and storage of cloth bags and finishing cloths. After using them, please rinse off Okara or soy milk completely. Please sun dry after washing them, and keep them in a plastic bag after they are completely dry.

I kept looking for an English translation but there was nothing. All directions are in Japanese. I went to their website hoping to find English instructions there, but could not find any. The tofu maker comes from Japan and is well constructed. In order to use it, I had to purchase a Kindle book. I found one for $3.99 (Making Soy Milk and Tofu at Home by Andrea Nguyen). We made our first batch over the weekend and everything turned out great. If the directions had been in English, my rating would be 5 stars. It took much longer to figure out how to use it.

Sehr schnelle Lieferung, nach einer Woche war das Päckchen da. Die Beschreibung, wie Tofu gemacht wird, ist zwar nur auf Japanisch, aber wer ein wenig Ahnung von der Materie hat, kommt gut zurecht. Mein Tofu ist jedenfalls wunderbar gelungen.

Looks exactly as advertised. I was happy to see there was also cheesecloth included, which I didn't expect. Arrived right on time and the product looks perfect.

Right size of tofu I made. And good quality

料理好きの中学２年の息子が誕生日プレゼントに注文したので購入させていただきました。 本当にできるのか、高見の見物？をしていましたが、なんと立派な美味しいお豆腐が完成しました。 料理工程で、湯葉やおからもとれ、おから等は野菜といためて美味しい副菜になりました。 出来たてのお豆腐は本当に滑らかで美味しく家族４人ではあっという間になくなってしまいました。 にがりは沢山入っているので、次回にも期待したいと思います(^^)v

Je suis très satisfaite du délais de livraison. Commandée le 20 septembre, la presse a été expédiée du Japon le 23 septembre et livrée le 29 septembre. Le tout très bien emballé de papier bulle et contenant les étamines et les doses de nigari. La presse est impeccable. Je l'ai fait tremper dans l'eau avant la première utilisation comme je l'ai vu suggéré sur Internet. Mes graines de soja jaune sont en train de tremper pour faire le lait de soja. J'ai hâte de tester la presse car jusqu'à présent je faisais mon tofu avec les moyens du bord (boîtes de camembert). Je rajoute les photos après plusieurs utilisation. Entièrement satisfaite du moule. Le tofu est bien meilleur que celui acheté dans le commerce.