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 is soy milk and what it means to me
Soy milk is a drink that is popular in Asian countries. Originating from China, it is made from soaking and grinding soybeans. The resulting liquid is then boiled and sometimes sweetened with some type of sweetener. In Vietnam where my parents are from, they even 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 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.
Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments
As mentioned, this soy milk recipe only contains 3 ingredients: soybeans, water, and granulated sugar. The only substitutions you can make are for the sugar! I’ve seen people use sugar substitutes such as stevia, but I haven’t personally tested it myself. You can use as much or as little sugar as you want. You can also use no sugar!
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.
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 you 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.
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.
Tips on how to make the perfect homemade soy milk
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 to use proper squeezing technique
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.
Keep your eyes on the pot
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.
How long does homemade soy milk last?
3-5 days in the fridge. If it starts to smell or taste sour, it’s spoiled.
Can I use less sugar in my soy milk?
Always my number 1 question. Yes, you can use as much or as little sugar you want!
Did you make this dish?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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Homemade Chinese Soy Milk
Equipment
Ingredients
- 250 g soybeans
- 4 ½ cups water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- 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.
- 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 you the liquid. 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.
- 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 in the fridge overnight because I like my soy milk cold, but you can also drink it warm.
Notes
- Optional flavoring. As seen above, 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 to use proper squeezing technique. 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.
- Keep your eyes on the pot to avoid burning. 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.
- How long does homemade soy milk last? 3-5 days in the fridge. If it starts to smell or taste sour, it’s spoiled.
- Can I use less sugar in my soy milk? Always my number 1 question. Yes, you can use as much or as little sugar you want!
By far and away the best recipe to be had on-line.
Hi Roger. Thank you so much for saying that! This is definitely a personal favorite of mine as well 🙂
Okay, I made it yesterday 😄 Omg, what a process!
Quick side note- I bought 2 ~2lbs bags of soybeans (~1500 grams total) from the supermarket, but I used 2/3 of it. I soaked the beans from the afternoon through the night and made the milk the following morning. I made almond milk before thinking this would be almost the same (just add the step for boiling the milk, right) 😅 I now realize soy milk definitely involves more elbow grease like you said, especially when making a bigger batch. To add to it, my family wanted pea soup as well so I had both beans and peas soaking at the same time, oh boy 😆🙆♀️ Long story short, I was in the kitchen all day!
Anyway, back to the soy milk, while soaking the soybeans I noticed they soaked up nearly all the water and almost doubled in size. I saw I had a lot to make even though I didn’t use all of the soy beans, so as I was blending and straining, I asked my aunt to boil each small batch to make things go a bit faster. I strained three times using a nylon mesh strainer bag, a cotton bag and a sieve. The pulp did push through the top at times, but I folded the top over and continued straining and adding water back to the pulp. We boiled the milk on high for 2 minutes then low for 5. I got soo much milk out of the soy beans (I used about 2 1/2-3lbs of beans), I’d say I yielded about 1 1/2 gallons!
I tasted a little of the hot soy milk without sugar and it was delicious but the bean flavor was strong. I put the milk to chill overnight and added vanilla extract and sugar this morning and, wow, the best soy milk ever (I drank mine hot with breakfast)! It was really worth it, it’s delicious 😋 I remembered seeing a soy milk machine on sale on Amazon, thinking who would be a soy milk machine? but now I understand😅 lol I feel proud of myself for making it, haha Thank you for posting this recipe, homemade soy milk is definitely more delicious than store-bought and is a vegan milks that’s more affordable to make. 5/5 ⭐ recipe! 😊
Omg! lol Thank you for documenting your whole process. Making soy milk gives my arm a real workout every time but I’m glad you liked it!! Hopefully the amount of work doesn’t deter you from making it again lol
Just stumbled upon your page while looking p recipes for homemade soy milk 😊 I put the soybeans to soak now and will be back to give an update 😉👍👍Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Oh yay!! Please let me know how it goes! I know it’s definitely a process that involves a lot of arm grease.
So good! Thanks for publishing this. I’m excited to use the okara / soy pulp too — tried making cookies with it but I realize I can’t completely replace the flour, haha. Going to try bread with it next.
If I get around to blogging about the fun I had making soy milk it is it okay to link to your recipe?
I’m so excited you enjoyed this recipe! I can’t wait to see what you make with the pulp!
Yes it’s okay to link to my recipe! 🙂 I can’t wait to read it!
my parents are from vietnam too . thank you for uploading this wonderful video.
i currently live in new york but i couldnt find any good soy milk . but i miss my mom soymilk too. at least my little brother and sister live with my mom and dad so they get to drink this everyday . im thinking to go back to vietnam Ho Chi Minh City at this may 7th 2023.