Make your own soya milk that tastes better than store-bought ones

If you use a soya bean-to-water ratio of 1:10, you should be able to get a version that is thicker than what most supermarkets and shops sell.

Start by weighing out 210g of soya beans, to allow for up to 10g of wastage from picking out the discoloured ones.

Filter the soya bean mixture after the boiling process to retain the maximum amount of nutrients in the final product.

Stir the mixture during boiling to prevent the soya pulp bits from sinking to the bottom of the pot and burning.

Using a non-stick pot certainly helps.

HOMEMADE SOYA MILK

INGREDIENTS (MAKES THREE TO FOUR SERVINGS)

• 210g of soya beans
• 2.375 litres of water (375ml water for soaking)
• 6 pandan leaves (22g), knotted
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 50g sugar
• 50ml water

EQUIPMENT

Blender, a pot large enough to boil 2 litres of water, a heat-proof container that can hold up to 1.5 litres of liquid, muslin cloth and sieve.

METHOD

1. Wash and rinse the soya beans thoroughly. Discard the discoloured ones.

2. Place the beans in a bowl and fill with 375ml of water. The beans should be covered with at least 5cm of water.

3. Soak the beans for five hours.

4. While waiting, prepare the sugar syrup. In a saucepan, add 50g of sugar and 50ml of water. Bring to a simmer and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.

5. Rinse the beans again and discard the discoloured ones.

6. Place the beans in a colander or sieve to drain off excess water.

7. Place the beans in the blender.

8. Add 1 litre of water and blend for 11/2 minutes until the mixture is smooth.

9. Pour the mixture into the pot. Add the remaining 1 litre of water.

10. Turn on low heat and add the pandan leaves.

11. Skim off the foam to prevent the mixture from boiling over.

12. Stir the mixture frequently over 20 to 25 minutes.

13. At the end, add salt and let the mixture come to a gentle simmer and turn off heat.

14. Discard the pandan leaves.

15. Line the sieve with the muslin cloth and use this to filter the soya bean milk into the heat-proof container.

16. When the remaining soya pulp has cooled, gently squeeze the muslin cloth to get more soya milk. You should be able to get 1.3 to 1.5 litres of milk.

17. Discard the pulp or save it for making vegetarian patties or in stir-fries.

18. To serve, add sugar syrup to the cup before topping up with soya milk.