Homemade Chinese Soy Milk Recipe

It’s been so hot lately, so I am always looking for something refreshing to cool me down. Sometimes that’s ice cream. Other times it’s salad. And sometimes it’s a drink like this homemade soy milk. I had never made soy milk before, but after seeing this video, I definitely wanted to try it. This homemade soy milk recipe is also only 3 ingredients! It does take a bit of arm strength, but it is definitely worth it in the end.

What soy milk means to me

Soy milk is a drink that is popular in many Asian countries, and used for a load of things, but for me, they’re just a drink I had for dinner from time to time. I typically had Chinese or Vietnamese soy milk, and yes there is a difference. In Vietnam where my parents are from, they add fresh pandan as flavoring. That’s why a lot of the soy milk you get in Vietnam or in Vietnamese stores are green! Growing up, I had both regular soy milk without the flavoring and pandan soy milk. I didn’t have a preference for one or the other; I just knew that the soy milk at Asian grocery stores were the best. No offense to Western stores, but soy milk there just doesn’t measure up.

How to make my homemade soy milk recipe

Soak soybeans for 6 hours or overnight. Drain the soybeans and add them to a bowl. Add 3 cups of water to the soybeans. Use an immersion blender or regular blender to blend the soybeans and water together until a thick consistency.

A few tips…

1. I usually like to soak my soybeans overnight. It’s more convenient and makes them easier to work with because they’ve been soaking for longer.
2. I personally prefer an immersion blender because you can stick it right in the pot. It’s a lot easier in my opinion.

Straining the soybeans

In another pot, place a fine mesh sieve over the pot. Then add the cheese cloth on top. Pour some of the soybean mixture onto the cheese cloth. Using the cheese cloth, squeeze the liquid out from the soybean mixture. Gather the ends together and hold them tightly with one hand. Then use the your other hand to carefully squeeze out the liquid. This process is very similar to making ricotta cheese. Don’t worry if some of the soybean pieces fall out of the cheesecloth. That’s what the sieve is for. Work in batches, so the soybeans don’t overwhelm the cheese cloth.  Once you’ve squeezed out all the liquid, add another 1 1/2 cups of water to the soybean grounds. Stir and repeat the process from the previous step.

How to use proper squeezing technique

In my tests, I had more than a few accidents where the soy beans would squirt out of the cheesecloth as I was squeezing it. The method I found most helpful is holding the ends of the cheesecloth together tightly with one hand and slowly squeezing the soybean mixture with your other hand. Sort of like how you make ricotta cheese.

Finishing the soy milk

After you have all the soy milk in the pot, pour it into a large bowl. Clean the fine mesh sieve and place it on top of the first pot. Pour the soy milk over the sieve into the first pot. Straining the liquid twice ensures you have little to no soybean particles in your soy milk. Place the pot on the stove and heat the soy milk until it boils. Make sure to stir the milk every few minutes to prevent the bottom from burning. Turn off the heat. Add the sugar and mix. Pour the soy milk into a container and store in the fridge. I like to store it overnight because I like my soy milk cold, but you can also drink it warm.

Tip: Soy milk boils really quickly, so keep your eyes on it. It will boil over if it gets too hot. This happened to me in testing.

Adding optional flavoring

As seen below, I experimented a bit with different flavors. I used pandan extract for the green soy milk and ube extract for the purple soy milk. Both were good. Growing up, I had pandan flavoured soy milk. If you want to use fresh pandan, add the pandan to the soy milk after you add the sugar, and let it steep in the milk.

How long does homemade soy milk last?

3-5 days in the fridge. If it starts to smell or taste sour, it’s spoiled.

Did you make this dish?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

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