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   Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 07:10:24 JST Adrianna Tan

   Soy bean vs soy milk math:

   - I buy 4 lbs (1.8 kg) of dried soy beans for US$6.99
   - I use 4 oz (0.11 kg) of dried soy beans each time I make soy milk, with 32 oz of water (0.91 kg).

   That gives me 20 oz (600 ml) of soy milk after straining through a cheesecloth or yogurt strainer.

   That means my cost for making 20 oz of soy milk is $0.43, plus the cost of electricity for 30 min and water. And my time. After I got a soy milk maker, I make it much more easily.

   I used to buy freshly made soy milk from a Vietnamese Chinese restaurant in the Tenderloin for US$12 a pint. My mom freaked out and got me to learn how to make it myself. :)

   I don't like soy milk that's sold in American grocery stores, especially the ones replacing dairy milk. They just don't taste right (or good) to me.

   #Food #ChineseFood #SoyMilk

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 07:12:20 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     And when I make it myself I can add the flavorings I enjoy:

     - black sesame
     - chinese brown sugar
     - pandan
     - ginger
     - miso

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 07:16:11 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Becca 🌳🚀🛀

     @rlcw for me, the taste and ratios of western soy milk is 'off'. it is way too thin.

     chinese soy milk is thicker and coats the tongue. whether you use machine or a manual method, i usually do 1:8 (soy beans to water) ratio.

     there are various recipes for using okara (soy pulp)

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     Becca 🌳🚀🛀 (rlcw@ecoevo.social)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 07:16:12 JST Becca 🌳🚀🛀

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte
     How do you make it right? And can you use the soy beans for something else after? Thinking of oats which should still make a decent porridge after straining and wondering if this might be similar?

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 07:23:09 JST Adrianna Tan

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     • Luigi :donor:

     @luigirenna oh yeah you would use a similar machine. there are some that even do the straining and makes it easy to get rid of the pulp

   • Embed this notice
     Luigi :donor: (luigirenna@infosec.exchange)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 07:23:10 JST Luigi :donor:

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte my daughter is allergic to soya protein so we consume lots of oat milk, which we produce in a very similar way to you, from raw material. We are considering buying a machine to speed up the process

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 11:51:41 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     I’m also dehydrating the leftover soy pulp to make veg patties

     GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 12:15:50 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Chung-chieh Shan 單中杰

     @ccshan sounds great. There’s a Japanese appetizer dish that is almost exactly like that

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     Chung-chieh Shan 單中杰 (ccshan@woof.group)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 12:15:51 JST Chung-chieh Shan 單中杰

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte I have gotten so lazy, I just eat the soy pulp with pickled cucumber and spicy bamboo and call it breakfast

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 12:56:23 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     Next step is to make doufufa

     https://omnivorescookbook.com/douhua-tofu-pudding/

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 13:14:16 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     Among the largest changes to my diet after leaving SE Asia: I now eat other beans, not just soy beans.

     I can’t remember when I might ever encounter beans outside of soy and (dessert) beans

     GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:19:49 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     Most people drink soy milk not as a dairy milk replacer but alongside

     Same with how tofu is not a vegetarian only item, it’s just an ingredient like any other

     Soy as a wholly vegetarian or vegan ingredient is not an Asian concept

   • Embed this notice
     Luke Kanies (lkanies@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:29:32 JST Luke Kanies

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte yeah I am definitely a product of the white hippie movement that invented that concept.

     Unfortunately they did not bring any of the *flavor* from the culinary tradition from where they got tofu and soy milk. My life would have been so much better if I had grown up with sambal and chilies and tons of great spices

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     Asta [AMP] (aud@fire.asta.lgbt)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:34:03 JST Asta [AMP]

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte@hachyderm.io in New York, I had an instant pot that I was doing food experiments in one of them was soy milk; even though I don't remember the recipe I used, it was delicious
     
     I stopped making soy milk in it when I, uh, fucked up once and it started shooting a piping hot steamy jet of soy pulp up onto the cupboard and ceiling...
     
     I'm willing to bet a proper soy milk maker doesn't have that issue, though, and uh... hmm. I feel like you had another thread on this somewhere and I wonder if you had a machine you recommended (or if you've already posted that here somewhere); I drink a lot of soy milk. And after having had non-US style soy milk, it's all I want. I had a Korean one with black sesame out of these foil packets and they were so good and 😭

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:34:03 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Asta [AMP]

     @aud any of the jug / kettle style soy milk makers work well. The most known brand would be a Joyoung but honestly any of the no name Chinese ones at 1/3 the price works just as well.

     I use a separate greek yogurt strainer container thing for straining I find that easier than a cheese cloth

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:38:51 JST Adrianna Tan

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     • Luke Kanies

     @lkanies ha. Even now as i navigate soy based recipes I have to be careful not to click on any of the ‘clean eating’ type of recipes that will make me sad

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:40:09 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     Thrift stores in Singapore and Malaysia are FULL of soy milk makers. I think it’s an aspirational concept (I want to be a person who makes soy milk) but in lived reality of living in Singapore and Malaysia.. why even bother when you can get great soy milk at less than a dollar 24/7 literally anywhere

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:41:16 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Claire, The Ultimate Worrier

     @waitworry yay

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     Claire, The Ultimate Worrier (waitworry@sakurajima.moe)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:41:17 JST Claire, The Ultimate Worrier

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte a few months back I was offered soup or a cup of soymilk with some Chinese food I ordered and I decided to try the cup of soy milk and that was the first time I had ever had it as just a beverage and I loved it so now I always have it in my fridge

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:43:45 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • ClaraBlackInk

     @clarablackink i love blowing people’s minds when i go camping and they take out their boring nuts and I take out a pack of spicy tofu snacks that taste almost like having tofu in a restaurant

   • Embed this notice
     ClaraBlackInk (clarablackink@writing.exchange)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:43:47 JST ClaraBlackInk

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte The most delightful thing about all cuisine outside the bog standard American stuff is the expansive use of ingredients.

     I was amazed as a kid at how many different types of food the small Asian grocery store had available vs the big American grocery stores. Occassionally the health food stores had somewhat expansive selections but most of those have homogenized vs the 90s selections.

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:48:22 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Andres
     • Asta [AMP]

     @aud @Andres4NY have you tried pea milk? I find it pretty good

   • Embed this notice
     Asta [AMP] (aud@fire.asta.lgbt)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:48:28 JST Asta [AMP]

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     • Andres

     @Andres4NY@social.ridetrans.it @skinnylatte@hachyderm.io I wonder if they have the mesh size specified somewhere you can find it?
     
     I actually do like soy milk and coffee (one of like... 3 people apparently); although I prefer black coffee most of all, it has to be strong. Very strong. If it's 'regular' strength I like it with a little soy.
     
     But I still don't like the US soy very much, either; I wonder if I could get homemade stuff to stop curdling once it hits the coffee. Hmmmm...

   • Embed this notice
     Asta [AMP] (aud@fire.asta.lgbt)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:48:28 JST Asta [AMP]

     in reply to

     • Andres

     @skinnylatte@hachyderm.io @Andres4NY@social.ridetrans.it (I've had oatmilk with my coffee; in fact, my spouse prefers it over soy every time. But I just don't find like it tastes much of anything. I don't hate it, I just...)

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     Andres (andres4ny@social.ridetrans.it)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:48:29 JST Andres

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     • Asta [AMP]

     @skinnylatte @aud I think I need to try and hunt down the older model and see if I can get it used somewhere..

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     Andres (andres4ny@social.ridetrans.it)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:48:30 JST Andres

     in reply to

     • Asta [AMP]

     @skinnylatte @aud For many years we used a Soyajoy one that had a little mesh basket. It was annoying to clean the basket, but it was nice to not have to strain anything. And then we'd use the okara for all kinds of stuff.

     It eventually burned out and we replaced it with a newer one that required straining... we stopped making it because straining made a mess and we could never find the right material (normal mesh with visible holes doesn't give us a consistency we like). 😞

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:49:50 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     In Paris we were so happy to find this shop (Best Tofu)

     https://maps.app.goo.gl/VZgsKwwWnvBjBwej9?g_st=ipc

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:53:59 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Chèvre Mousse

     @legendarybassoon yup!

   • Embed this notice
     Chèvre Mousse (legendarybassoon@mamot.fr)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:54:00 JST Chèvre Mousse

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte A colleague recommended this shop to me with these words "I saw the shop name and I thought, this is a bold claim, but they do have the best tofu around Paris."

   • Embed this notice
     Asta [AMP] (aud@fire.asta.lgbt)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:54:34 JST Asta [AMP]

     in reply to

     • Andres

     @skinnylatte@hachyderm.io @Andres4NY@social.ridetrans.it I have not!! I've never seen it for sale anywhere.
     
     Oh, but I bet I could make all of these with a soy milk machine... <_<
     
     (related: I still want to make and try peanut milk)

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:54:34 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Andres
     • Asta [AMP]

     @aud @Andres4NY I once got a pack of dairy free milk called ripple. It was hard to ascertain what it was made of (peas). I think ‘pea milk’ doesn’t sound good

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 16:58:15 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     It’s hard to explain soy milk culture in Singapore / Taiwan:

     - shops that sell soy milk, and soy puddings are often open 24/7
     - it would be perfectly reasonable to hang out there after clubbing or something. After you’ve had a lot of beer you sort of want hot soy milk (I do!)
     - they are also open for breakfast, and they have savory soy milk / pudding options (with soy sauce, scallions, chillies)
     - they also have tasty little snacks mostly of the wheat variety (various salty and sweet pastries)
     - they tend to be a reliable place for fresh you tiao (dough fritters) and things like congee

     A very famous one in Taiwan would be Yong He

     https://3.214.169.219/yong-he-soy-milk-king

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 17:00:39 JST Adrianna Tan

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     • Chèvre Mousse

     @legendarybassoon joke’s on them. The tofu shop owners’ native language is Teochew (what I speak)

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     Chèvre Mousse (legendarybassoon@mamot.fr)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 17:00:40 JST Chèvre Mousse

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte I don't dare go there because he told me I'm going to make other customers lose time by asking for clarifications in French instead of ordering in Mandarin like a normal person

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 17:01:55 JST Adrianna Tan

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     • ClaraBlackInk

     @clarablackink I prefer buying frozen foods from ethnic stores too. The flavors taste better. TJ’s Indian and Korean is stronger than their Japanese / Chinese / Thai, which I can’t stand

   • Embed this notice
     ClaraBlackInk (clarablackink@writing.exchange)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 17:01:57 JST ClaraBlackInk

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte And they were a delightful "throw in the oven" item that was just different from any other frozen item at the time in any large grocery store.

     I think its now only the smaller stores that have similarly interesting items. Which is sad because its just nice having access to many different types of flavors.

   • Embed this notice
     ClaraBlackInk (clarablackink@writing.exchange)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 17:01:58 JST ClaraBlackInk

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte In this vein I've been reflecting on the trajectory of Trader Joes as they've veered away from the ethnic foods towards hyper processed foods.

     They had once been more of a bridge between the health food-y markets plus ethnic food stores. And it was in part their selection of nut mixes where you could see that. Then they just started tosing those mixes into sugar.

     I was reminded of them recently because for a brief window they had lemongrass sticks...

   • Embed this notice
     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 17:05:57 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Chèvre Mousse

     @legendarybassoon lots of French friends manage. You should go!

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     Chèvre Mousse (legendarybassoon@mamot.fr)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 17:05:58 JST Chèvre Mousse

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte Anyway I may gather the courage to go there and point at stuff until I either get a visual/taste coordination of different tofus, or become fluent in Teochew, whichever comes first.

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     Chèvre Mousse (legendarybassoon@mamot.fr)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 17:05:59 JST Chèvre Mousse

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte He's vietnamese, so

   • Embed this notice
     Luke Kanies (lkanies@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 17:12:14 JST Luke Kanies

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte once when traveling in North Carolina (Asheville, I think) I ate at a “vegetarian restaurant “. But this was like 2003, in the south. I was young and not yet (very) cynical. I did not know.

     Turns out it was a 7th Day Adventist restaurant. I came away convinced they did not believe in flavor.

     It wasn’t just a lack of spice. Like, they were afraid of food that was too fresh because it might accidentally be delicious.

     It was also served cafeteria-style, which in this country is a huge red flag, at least for vegetarians. (Except at Indian restaurants.)

   • Embed this notice
     Alexandra Magin 🏳️‍🌈 (recursive@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 10-Dec-2025 19:17:24 JST Alexandra Magin 🏳️‍🌈

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte do you have any recommendation for a soy milk maker? I have been thinking about it for a while, and it is even more compelling now that groceries generally means carrying a few blocks (or Instacart), so heavy liquids I'd rather not

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 01:29:25 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Keira (She/Her)
     • Enola Knezevic

     @keira_reckons @rhelune I don’t think i was ever conscious of the beany taste until others pointed it out. I think any soy milk that didn’t have it would not sell well back home

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     Keira (She/Her) (keira_reckons@aus.social)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 01:29:26 JST Keira (She/Her)

     in reply to

     • Enola Knezevic

     @rhelune @skinnylatte I'm not local, but in my limited experience soy milk in Singapore and Malaysia has the beans flavour, it's the norm.

     It took me a while to get used to it, but I like it a lot now. It's a *lot* sweeter than at home too, which goes well with the beany-ness.

   • Embed this notice
     Keira (She/Her) (keira_reckons@aus.social)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 01:29:27 JST Keira (She/Her)

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte yes! Soya bean drink for breakfast, hot or cold, with a dough/pastry thing is the best. It's not the same here, the soy milk here is made to be more like cows milk - thick and less sweet, and no bean flavour.

     And soy pudding as a snack.

     I'm not at all of the culture, but do live the soy shops, making it so there's almost always a vegan option in every food spot.

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     Enola Knezevic (rhelune@todon.eu)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 01:29:27 JST Enola Knezevic

     in reply to

     • Keira (She/Her)

     @keira_reckons @skinnylatte Do people in Asia like that bean flavour? I only made soy milk once, using a borrowed Soylove, and it was so beany not even chocolate could make it drinkable, I had to throw it all away. Recently I found out that soybeans need to be soaked in boiling water to deactivate the enzyme responsible for the beany flavour, and then hulled, but I dare not try...

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 01:29:34 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Gabriel ⛺💤

     @me that’s sad. I never saw that type of tofu until I left Asia and I had no idea what people were going on about.

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     Gabriel ⛺💤 (me@m.geno.is)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 01:29:36 JST Gabriel ⛺💤

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte I’m sad I got traumatised by the tofu products that tryed too hard to « mimic » other food so badly.

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 02:41:19 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Tyrone Slothrop

     @slothrop I think I did that the first time I heard it to

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     Tyrone Slothrop (slothrop@chaos.social)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 02:41:20 JST Tyrone Slothrop

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte I once had a Taiwanese person laugh at me extremely heartily when I told her that Europeans think of tofu as a vegan / vegetarian thing

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 02:46:59 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Sini Tuulia

     @sinituulia amazing! Was it Helsinki? When I was in Vantaa recently I saw so many Chinese Finnish people

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     Sini Tuulia (sinituulia@eldritch.cafe)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 02:47:00 JST Sini Tuulia

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte She also showed me the only restaurant in my city that made "real" doufu and sold it as is to customers, and it was the nicest I'd ever had outside of a Vietnamese restaurant where it was already marinated and fried, and constantly kept selling out so you had to be in the know and rush over if you wanted some - hours within of when it was made!

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     Sini Tuulia (sinituulia@eldritch.cafe)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 02:47:02 JST Sini Tuulia

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte A Chinese friend had one of those big honking ones and made fresh soy milk for me one day. It was nice, but also hotter than the sun when it just came out, so naturally I burnt my tongue. But it was very nice, and got used in a bunch of things!

     Her Finland-born daughter didn't like it because she expected it to taste like milk... 😭

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 02:54:06 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • temporalthought

     @temporalthought yah, you can also dunk you tiao in congee (which these shops sometimes also sell)

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     temporalthought (temporalthought@infosec.exchange)'s status on Thursday, 11-Dec-2025 02:54:07 JST temporalthought

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte a friend informed us to dunk youtiao in soy milk and it was good. works like how we dip pandesal in 3-in-1 coffee!

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     Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 01-Jan-2026 08:21:27 JST Adrianna Tan

     in reply to

     • Jenica Lake เหล็ถเลถ

     @MamaLake red and yellow bean desserts

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     Jenica Lake เหล็ถเลถ (mamalake@beige.party)'s status on Thursday, 01-Jan-2026 08:21:29 JST Jenica Lake เหล็ถเลถ

     in reply to

     @skinnylatte what is a dessert bean?