It’s a new year and a new you. Time to make super tasty
tofu! Why not? Freshly made tofu is like fresh cheese or bread. Exquisite.
There’s growing interest in DIY tofu and Ten Speed Press and
I are responding. Today marks the release of Making Soy Milk
and Tofu at Home – an eBook based on the Asian Tofu cookbook. Priced at $3.99 (about the cost of a decent
cup of coffee), the eBooklet is a terrific option for people who want to master
a range of DIY tofu.
If you have the Asian
Tofu cookbook, you’ll recognize the contents of the eBook. It’s the extensive
“Homemade Tofu Tutorial” chapter presented in both regular and enhanced (videos
included) formats. I worked on that section of the book for months, perused a
Ph.D. dissertation, and traveled to Asia to get a few questions answered too.
Cooks and eaters familiar with Asian food have long appreciated the deliciousness and versatility of tofu, but most people in the West see it only as a vegetarian, vegan and hippie ingredient. Thankfully, the tide is changing as people travel and explore authentic Asian flavors. As chef David Kinch of renowned Manresa Restaurant noted in his review of the book, the homemade tutorial is high value content.
Like with many foods, to truly understand tofu, you should make it yourself. You'll cook it up better in the long run. It's fascinating and magical.
Making Soy Milk and Tofu at Home
includes detailed recipes, step-by-step instructions, and tips for:
- Master Soy
Milk Recipe: Learn to manipulate soybeans for 3 delicious kinds (it’s a
zillion times better than boxed soy milk) - Silken
Tofu: Amazingly rich and tender when made at home - Tofu
Pudding: A favorite Chinese and Southeast street food and dim sum snack, go
savory or sweet - Block
Tofu: When made at home, this is definitely not your average white block in
a tub - Seasoned
Pressed Tofu: The brown slabs of flavored tofu sold at health food stores
and Chinese markets? They’re a cinch to make and you control the flavor and
quality. - Spicy Lemongrass
Pressed Tofu: Check out this variation of the basic seasoned pressed tofu
for ideas on crafting your own flavors. - Tea-Smoked
Pressed Tofu: Yes, give that seasoned pressed tofu a smoky edge. - White
Fermented Tofu: Grow mold to develop umami in tofu? Set the culinary
scientist in you free. - Fresh
Tofu Skin: This is yuba, a.k.a. vegan sashimi, ethereal when freshly made
and hard to come by unless you make it yourself. - Soy-Simmered
Fried Tofu: For tofu sushi pockets (inari zushi), udon noodle soup, and
more. Infinitely better when made at home than purchased pre-seasoned at an
Asian market, or (yikes) in a can.
Who this eBook is for: If you own the Asian Tofu ebook (regular or enhanced
editions), this eBook would be repetitious. However, if you have the printed
version of the book and have a device that can handle video and audio (e.g, iPad
or Nook Color reader), consider the enhanced version of this eBooklet. It
contains how-to videos on making soymilk, coagulating it with confidence for
making tofu, and how to make fresh tofu skin. Some people learn better by watching and if you can't take a class with me, the eBook may be a good alternative.
For folks who want to dive into the world of DIY tofu, whether that’s going from soybeans to
curds or manipulating purchased tofu to create nifty kinds of tofu, the eBook provides hyperfocused, solid guidance. It’s infinitely fun to tinker with soybeans.
When you go to buy the Making Soy Milk and Tofu at Home eBook, there are 2 versions of it:
regular and enhanced (with video). Remember when I discussed standard
vs. fixed layout for the Asian Tofu eBooks? Making Soy Milk and Tofu at Home is in standard layout only, which
means you can change fonts. When we rolled out the Asian Tofu eBooks last year,
there was a lot of confusion about the different versions. Less can be more.
Whether
you buy the regular or enhanced edition, the price is the same — $3.99. Which one you buy depends on your device or
the Apps that you run. Confusing? Yes. But it’s also out of our control. The
eReaders and tablets run on different platforms.
That
said, look for the two different covers. If it’s bordered, you’re buying the
enhanced edition. If there is no yellow border, it’s the regular ebook.
With
regard to enhanced eBook device compatibility, vendors have gotten smarter. Check the enhanced eBook page for drop-down windows to see
if your device or app will take the enhanced version of Making Soy Milk and Tofu at Home.
Where to buy the eBook? Currently, options include:
- Amazon: regular | enhanced
- Barnes and Noble: regular
| enhanced
for certain Nook devices and Apps - BooksOnBoard
- eBooks.com
- Google
Play - iBookstore: regular
| enhanced for iPhone, iPod, iPad only - Reader
Store for Sony
More vendors, such as Kobo.com, may get the book in the
future. As of today, it wasn’t showing up. But you have many choices above.
Hard to believe that a year ago, I was getting ready for the Asian Tofu book release. A year later, this! Very cool. Thanks for the support. Feel free to share your thoughts on this eBooklet or post questions on digital publishing.
In a day or so, I’ll report on another Asian Tofu development.
Related posts:
Hi Andrea,
I don’t see the enhance version on Amazon yet? Will it be available soon?
Hi Amy,
Argh, the enhanced version is on Amazon but not easily found. I linked to it above in the bulleted list. Should have done it to the screen shot too. Okay, now it’s done. Just in case, here it is:
http://amzn.to/11rdg4m
Thanks much for the interest!
Hi Andrea,
I saw that but it doesn’t have the option to click and buy like the regular version. Or do I have to click and buy before they will give me the option to choose which version I want. (I already the printed version)
Hi Amy,
How freaky. As you can see in the screen shot above, when I grabbed that, the option to buy was there. Hold on to your tofu horse. I’ll report back ASAP!
It showed up for me, but only when I clicked the link. It’s not there when I went looking for it in the regular catalog. It looks great. I’m getting it right now. Thanks, Andrea.
not good. I signed in to buy, and the “buy” button disappeared. I want the enhanced version too. 🙁
Amy,
I just learned from my editor at Ten Speed Press that for the enhanced eBook, Amazon put up the link to buy and then took it off after they decided to do a Quality Assurance test on the book. Why didn’t they do that before the book went on sale? Because they don’t often deal with enhanced eBooks. Apple and B&N do but you want the Kindle version.
Will give everyone an update when this situation changes. So sorry.
Jodi,
As I explained to Amy above: with regard to the enhanced eBook, Amazon put up the link to buy and then took it off after they decided to do a Quality Assurance test on the book. When this situation changes, I’ll let everyone know. Aarrgh…
Andrea,
I have your book and it is great! One thing you don’t mention though is how you feel about leaving the hull on the soybeans or taking them off. I’d like to know which is best before my first try. Thanks so much.
Eric
Milk lowers high blood pressure and prevent from cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, obesity and certain types of cancer…
Hi Andrea,
Look like the enhanced version is available to buy on Amazon now. (or at least now I see the “click to buy” button. Woohoo , will buy once my battery is fully charge
Hi Eric, you don’t have to remove the hull from the soybeans. They are removed through the straining and squeezing process. Thanks for asking!
You’re right, Amy! Woohoo!
Jodi, the enhanced book is now available on Amazon!
Amy, the enhanced ebook just became available on Amazon. Thanks for your patience.
I have your book and it is great! One thing you don’t mention though is how you feel about leaving the hull on the soybeans or taking them off. I’d like to know which is best before my first try.
Hi Andrea, I am cooking my way through Asian Tofu using my own homemade tofu. It is tasty, but I don’t get the big beautiful curds that I see in the pictures mine are very small. I trying to be gentle, I am using Nigari, I am watching my temperatures…..any other hints?
That’s not an issue because the hulls are trapped in the muslin.
Dee, it could be the beans not having a tremendous amount of protein and fat for you to coagulate. Where are you sourcing them from? Read the tips on how to buy beans. If you’re really into diy tofu, order “Laura” soybeans from Fairview farms. Along with info in the book, here’s a post:
http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2012/10/soybean-buying-guide.html
Thanks so much for writing!
I didn’t understand the difference between this book and the Asian Tofu book and which one is more suitable for me. Specially with the huge price difference.
Thank you,