Soy Milk Drink

Recently a friend of mine asked me for my Soy milk recipe, and I spent quite a while trying to conpress it into 3 text messages and still remain clear, then I thought - I could have sent her a link to the recipe right here on Naija Cook Book! Then I realized its not here yet! So here goes:

Soy Milk is an extract from Soy beans [or soyabeans]. It is rich in lots of vitamins and is a veritable source for protein. There are several other uses, for the bean - you can cook it, extract the milk, or even mash it and use as egusi [which is used in soups in Nigeria].

Taking the milk regularly guarantees fresh youthful skin, a healthier diet among other things. My younger brother was born when the currency was changed from shilling to naira, so my parents had money in the bank but no cash to spend so we had to make do with what we had in the farm. I was fed imported milk as a baby - due to the circumstances my brother was fed soymilk. Two decades later he's over 6ft 3ins tall and seldom falls ill while I'm weak most of the month.

No one needs to tell me to feed my babies with soymilk when they come along!

To make the milk is soooo easy!

Ingredients:
Soy beans
Hot water
A sieve - tiny mesh, almost as small as the one for sieving flour
A blender
A ladle
Sugar

Procedure:

Step 1: Pour the beans into a bowl after picking. Pour boiling hot water over it. [Some prefer to soak the beans overnight because of its hard skin, but hot water is just as effective]

Step 2: Leave the beans to soak in the hot water for an hour and a half. While soaking, wash the sieve selected to ensure clean hygiene. Get the blender ready.

Step 3: Check the beans periodically, until the skin becomes extremely soft and removable. When it reaches this condition, remove the skin from the beans by rubbing between your hands in cool water.

Step 4: Fill the bowl periodically with water, until the peeled skin rises above the beans, and sieve the skins out. To conserve water (we have to be green, right?), sieve the skins but pour water into another bowl while sieving. Pour the water back into the bowl with the beans.

Step 5: Repeat steps 3 and 4 until 99.99% of the skins have been peeled and sieved out.

Step 6: Pour the beans into the blender with little water. Blend in batches, depending on the quantity of beans you have peeled. The result should be a thick paste with little or no lumps in it.

Step 7: Dilute the paste with water but make sure the result is not too watery. Mix until it is an even mixture then sieve into another bowl. [Do not through away the pulp because you can use it in your vegetable soups to add a unique taste, instead of Egusi].

Step 8: Pour the sieved liquid into a pot. Put on the burner, on low heat and stir rigorously. Leave on low heat and watch periodically. When a brown layer begins to form on top of the extract, skim it off with a spoon.

Step 9: Let the extract reach a mild boil, then set aside. Let the pot cool for a while. Add sugar to taste [don't let the sugar overcome the soy taste in the extract].

Step 10: Let it cool until you can pour into bottles. Pour into bottles and arrange in the fridge. Serve chilled.

Soy milk can be drank anytime of the day. Personally I make soymilk, and bake little potato - filled rolls that I used to serve to my guests.