· James Torr · Personal · 1 min read
Big lump of 36hrs after the start. Decided to use the same perforated tray as the last koji batch, seems to have done pretty well aside from a few spots in the corners where I assume I didn’t mix the spores in well enough, and the oxygen couldn’t penetrate. Cut them off and we’re good to go. That’s quite a lot there, will try to freeze some.
First time doing soy bean . Using rice made at home. Now all I have to do is wait 6 months till it's ready. Yes that's a bag there!
Woah what is that white furry (tasty) stuff on those beans!!???
Medium firm tofu trial. I wanted it a bit firmer but I think the mould (a ricotta cheese mould) was a bit all for the correct pressure. The individual steps for making tofu are relatively simple, but there are quite a few: Soak the beans for 8hrs, liquidise with a set quantity of water, strain in a nut milk bag, heat up to around 80C, hold for 30 minutes, add gypsum (or another coagulant), stir, ladle into a mould lined with cheesecloth, press. I made some mabo dofu (pictured) and some home style tofu. I'm not saying I won't do this again, but it's probably on the rainy day side of the food projects I've done as it's relatively simple and cheap to buy locally.
Umeboshi! Japanese fermented salty sour plum. These are a Mirabelle/cherry plum growing close to my house, local as it gets. They're used in dressings, cooked in a sardine stew, or eaten with rice in Japan. Super salty and a bit sour, best not eaten on their own.