Soy milk has been made and drunk in Asia for hundreds of years. Before the advent of commercial soy milk production, soy milk was made at home. In many households, it is still made at home. Home-made soy milk is not hard to make and can be flavored to suit your tastes or drunk unflavored. Although there are regional differences in the exact procedure to make soy milk, the basic process is very easy.
Soaking & Dehulling
To make soy milk, soak about 5 oz. of dried soybeans in water for around 12 hours. Knead the soybeans to break up the hulls and flush them off with water. If the hulls don't slip of relatively easily, you may have extraordinarily dry beans and may need to soak the beans longer. For extremely dry beans, you may need to soak for a total of 18 hours.
Heating & Grinding
Heating the beans briefly will help to reduce the "beany" flavor. Heat the beans in a microwave for 2 minutes. Drain the beans and put them in a blender with 4 1/2 cups of water. Blend thoroughly.
Straining & Boiling
Strain the mixture through a cheese cloth. Heat the strained soy milk to a boil and boil for 5 or 10 minutes. Cool the soy milk and store in the refrigerator.
Flavoring
Add a touch of salt to the soy milk for a more pleasant flavor. Also, if you like commercial vanilla-flavored soy milk, add a few drops of vanilla extract and sugar to taste. Almond extract also works well in soy milk.
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