Growing up as a child of immigrant parents in Melbourne often meant that I had very different lunchboxes from my fellow students. They got Twisties for their snack at recess, and I got prawn crackers or Haw Flakes. They got a peanut butter sandwich (in the days before peanuts were banned from schoolyards!) and I got a pineapple bun. They got a Just Juice juicebox, and I got a Chinese Vitasoy soy milk.
Old habits die hard, and even now as I’m well into my twenties, I still find myself preferring to buy soy milk from Asian supermarkets, than regular cows milk from Coles…but not anymore! On my last visit to Melbourne, my Dad gave me his old soy milk machine, which he no longer uses. Purchased in Hong Kong a few years ago for under $100AUD, this easy Joyoung soy milk machine makes perfect soy milk in under half an hour (see Amazon link – not an affiliate link).
I’ve been making my own soy milk about once a week ever since I got the machine and it’s been an absolute dream, especially considering that I’m now trying to have a dairy-free diet. It’s super easy to use as well.
Method
Take half a cup of dry soy beans (purchased from your local Asian supermarket) and soak them in a bowl for at least eight hours. I like to do it just before I go to bed.
When you go back to the beans after eight hours, they will have expanded as per the above. Drain the water, and rinse the beans a few times, to ensure that any grit has been removed.
Empty the beans into the Joyoung soy milk maker, and add water up to the second mark inside the jug – approximately a litre of water.
Close the machine and select the last option to make soy milk. Apparently this machine can also make other drinks including juices, though I haven’t yet been game enough to try!
After half an hour of whirring, grinding, and other random machine noises, the Joyoung will beep three times to let you know that your soy milk is ready! It will be piping hot, so make sure you don’t burn yourself on the machine.
Unfortunately, this is the tricky part – the machine doesn’t automatically separate out any sediment during the process. The okara (soy bean pulp) can be quite gritty, and leave a nasty texture in your mouth. To remove this okara, I pass the soy milk through a sieve as I pour it into my carafe. You could potentially also use a cheesecloth or something similar if you prefer.
And there you have it – one litre of soy milk freshly prepared and ready to drink! You can add sugar to taste if you like, but I’m choosing to not add any sugar at all to keep the drink healthier. Soy milk has quite a long shelf life as well, so as long as you keep it chilled in the fridge, you could possibly drink it for up to a month after you make it…if it even lasts that long as it’s so delicious!
Don’t have a soy milk machine? There’s plenty of recipes online for making your own soy milk using just a blender and a saucepan. This recipe by Spicie Foodie is great!
Note: Gourmanda has no commercial relationship with the manufacturers of this appliance.
What a great little machine :) I keep meaning to try making my own soy milk but haven’t as yet. I actually want to make some just for the okara as there are some great recipes using it too :)
That’s so cool! I love Chinese soy milk (although I do like the thick, not-too-sweet Bonsoy too). I bet it would be so nice freshly made.
This brings back memories! My dad used to make his own soy milk and I loved the taste of it so much! :)
i have the same machine in white! i love fresh soy milk, i sweeten it with stevia if i do add sugar, its so much better than the ones from supermarkets!
hello, try using organic soy beans. much richer in flavour and also better for you than the non organic ones (lots of nasties in the non organic ones).