I love tofu and I've been eating it since I was a child. I was always told by my mom to eat my tofu because it's healthy. Little did I know that it has Plaster of Paris (or Gypsum Plaster). Store bought tofu uses Plaster of Paris to make tofu as a coagulant. I didn't even know what Plaster of Paris until I started making my own tofu at home. For those who don't know, Plaster of Paris is what you use for your walls or your cast when you break an arm! I don't believe that the Chinese used Plaster of Paris for their tofu originally hundreds of years ago. But the truth is, all tofu you buy from the store has Plaster of Paris in it as a coagulant. It is labeled as "Calcium Sulfate". I bought this Plaster of Paris at the asian store just out of curiosity to see what it is like. I opened the package and I had to immediately throw the whole package for I thought I opened some type of paint material! The smell of paint was over powering! I cannot believe this is what they put in tofu! How can tofu even be advertised as a healthy food when you put Plaster of Paris in it? However, I discovered that the Japanese use another type of coagulant in their tofu, it is called Nigari. Nigari's chemical name is Magnesium Chloride which is extracted from sea water or brine. But the funny thing is, even the Japanese brand tofu here in the U.S. uses Plaster of Paris. I haven't to this day have found tofu that doesn't use Calcium Suflate nor I have found any tofu made with Nigari. I think you have to go to Japan to find tofu that uses Nigari. Tofu instruction tells you to put very little of this wall stuff to coagulate the soymilk. After mixing all your stuff, you can't really smell the deadly stuff---that's why when you open a tub of tofu, you can't smell the paint smell.
I did make my first tofu with Nigari. Making tofu is very laborious. You would have to make the soymilk first. I made it with black soybeans, which is much more nutritious than the white soybeans. I first soaked my black soybeans overnight, grinded the soybeans in a blender, extracted the soymilk from the grounded soybeans, and then cook the soymilk. You have to add the coagulant at a certain temperature of the soymilk. You'd have to slowly cook/mix in the Nigari. It is very hard to make! I was not successful the very first time so I had to do it again since I heard from other people that it is easy to make! Uggh! Anyways, the second time was much better for me for it turned out very creamy and soft. Store bought just can't compare to the homemade tofu. The black soybeans make a creamy tofu.
This is what the soymilk looks like after adding the Nigari. As you can see, coagulation is starting to form.
I stir-fried the tofu with soybean sprouts. The tofu was really delicious.
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