Straight from the night markets in Da Lat, Vietnamese soy milk is fresh, creamy perfection so good you’ll never want to buy store bought again. Make your very own sua dau nanh at home with our quick or lazy method!
In this post you’ll learn
Why We Love This
“But I don’t like soy milk.” That’s what I said to Laura as we stood in front of the vendor at the Da Lat night markets. Boy was I wrong. Once the sun sets in Da Lat, it’s freezing up in those mountains, and let me tell you – hot fresh soy milk changed my world. Comparing Vietnamese soy milk to my experience growing up with So Good Soy Milk was like comparing a rump steak to an eye fillet.
There’s a creamy sweetness to homemade soy milk, that while we still love dairy, we’ll often make this at home now. It’s great in smoothies, cakes or muffins, or our particular favourite at the moment – using it in our tantanmen ramen for dinner. It’s also naturally vegan, if you have friends or family with dietary requirements.
Related: Avocado Smoothie / Vietnamese Three Colour Drink
Soy Milk – Vietnamese Street Food Style!
Did you know soy milk is a super popular street beverage in Vietnam, where it’s known as sữa đậu nành? You’ll find it at night markets and street stalls alongside amazing dishes like banh trang nuong (crispy Vietnamese pizza made with a rice paper base) or banh xeo (crispy fried crepes).
Vietnamese soy milk can be served hot or cold and is usually sold in plastic bags sealed with a rubber band. You can ask for sweetened or unsweetened, plain (unflavoured soy milk) or flavoured with fresh pandan leaves or peanut butter.
We’ll make a fresh batch and love to warm it up to drink with breakfast or before bed.
Ingredients and substitutes for this Soy Milk
Main Ingredients
- Soybeans – Can also be labelled as soya beans. These pea-sized cream coloured legumes are packed with protein. We often buy ours in bulk at Asian grocery stores, but they’re becoming more widely available at regular supermarkets or health food stores. Use organic dried soybeans for the best nutrition and flavour.
- Sugar – You can use white sugar, palm sugar, honey or maple syrup, or leave it out for unsweetened soy milk (which still has a touch of sweetness).
- Water – It’s fine to use regular tap water for boiling and soaking the beans, but if possible, blend with filtered water for the best flavour in the finished milk.
Optional Soy Milk Flavours
- Pandan – This is a staple ingredient to savoury or sweet dishes in many Asian cuisines. Check out our pandan guide for more ideas. Use 1-2 fresh pandan leaves if you can get them, the scent and aroma they infuse is amazing! Otherwise use 1/2 tsp of pandan flavouring like we did. Both the leaves and flavouring should be available at most Asian grocery stores.
- Peanut Butter – Use smooth peanut butter so you don’t get any crunchy peanut bits in the milk, otherwise you’ll just have to strain it again.
Let’s make homemade soy milk!
Prepare the Soybeans:
- Place soybeans in a colander over a bowl and cover with water. Rinse thoroughly and pick out any discoloured, misshapen or floating soybeans then drain.
- Quick Method: Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to the boil, then pour in the washed soybeans and boil for one minute. Switch off the heat and allow the soybeans to soak in the hot water for around one hour until they double in size. Tip: At this point, you should be able to pick up a bean and easily squish it in half.
- Lazy Method: Before bed, pop your washed soybeans in a bowl, jar or saucepan and fill with 3 times as much water. Allow to soak overnight for 8 hours. If the weather is cooler, you may need to allow up to 12-14 hours for them to fully soften.
Blend the Soybeans:
- Transfer the softened soybeans into a blender and add 2 cups of filtered water for every 1 cup of soaked beans.
- Strain the soy milk mixture using a nut milk bag or a colander lined with cheesecloth placed over a bowl. Tip: Pour and strain the soy milk slowly in batches so it doesn’t overflow or get clogged with the okara (soy milk pulp).
- Pull the edges of the cloth together and squeeze the pulp to extract the milk.
- Use the okara pulp in another recipe or pop it in your compost. Use a spoon to carefully press out any remaining soy milk through the bag or cloth.
Sweeten the Soy Milk:
- Pour the soy milk into a large pot or saucepan and add the sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Note: Soy milk can foam up quickly once it comes to the boil, so keep a close eye on it at all times and reduce heat to low as soon as foam appears to avoid it boiling over. Use a strainer to skim off any foam or skin that forms on top and discard.
- Simmer for 10 minutes. For a nuttier, less sweet soy milk drink, stop cooking here. Otherwise, keep simmering for another 10-20 minutes for a sweeter soy milk. Taste test along the way until you get it just how you like it (but be careful not to burn your tongue).
Add Flavour:
- Original: Once you’ve finished cooking, your plain soy milk is ready to drink as is, and can be enjoyed warm or cool.
- Pandan Flavour: Add pandan flavouring or fresh pandan leaves (knotted) to the soy milk while it’s simmering.
- Peanut Butter: Add smooth peanut butter while it’s simmering. Stir through until the peanut butter has completely melted. Best served warm.
Quick Tips
Storage
Store leftover soy milk in sterilised jars in the fridge for around 5 days. If it starts to smell sour, it’s time to get rid of it.
FAQs & Troubleshooting
You can use it in just about any recipe that calls for dairy milk! The high protein content makes it an especially good substitute for regular milk in cakes, muffins and pancakes. We love it in dairy free versions of matcha latte or three layer tea.
Otherwise, pop it in your morning coffee or pour over your cereal, oats or granola as a delicious dairy alternative. You could even use it to make your own homemade tofu!
Try it alongside a bowl of chao ga (Vietnamese rice porridge) for the ultimate comfort food combination.
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★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Ingredients
Optional flavourings:
- ½ tsp pandan flavouring or 1-2 fresh pandan leaves, knotted
- 1 tbsp peanut butter smooth
Instructions
Prepare the soybeans:
- Place soybeans in a colander over a bowl and cover with water. Rinse thoroughly and pick out any discoloured, misshapen or floating soybeans and drain.½ cup soy beans
- Quick Method: Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring it to the boil, then pour in the washed soybeans and boil for one minute. Switch off the heat and allow the soybeans to soak in the hot water for around one hour until they double in size. Tip: At this point, you should be able to pick up a bean and easily squish it in half.
- Lazy Method: Before bed, pop your washed soybeans in a bowl or jar and fill with 3 times as much water. Allow to soak overnight for 8 hours. If the weather is cooler, you may need to allow up to 12-14 hours for them to fully soften.
Blend the soybeans:
- Transfer the softened soybeans into a blender and add 2 cups of filtered water for every 1 cup of soaked beans.filtered water
- Strain the soy milk using a nut milk bag or a colander lined with cheesecloth placed over a bowl. Tip: Pour and strain the soy milk slowly in batches so it doesn’t overflow or get clogged with the okara (soy milk pulp).
- Pull the edges of the cloth together and squeeze the pulp to extract the milk.
- Use the okara pulp in another recipe or pop it in your compost. Use a spoon to carefully press out any remaining soy milk through the bag or cloth.
Sweeten the soy milk:
- Pour the soy milk into a large pot or saucepan and add the sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Note: Soy milk can foam up quickly once it comes to the boil, so keep a close eye on it at all times and reduce heat to low as soon as foam appears to avoid it boiling over. Use a strainer to skim off any foam or skin that forms on top and discard.¼ cup sugar
- Simmer for 10 minutes. For a nuttier, less sweet soy milk drink, stop cooking here. Otherwise, keep simmering for another 10-20 minutes for a sweeter soy milk. Taste test along the way until you get it just how you like it (but be careful not to burn your tongue).
Add flavourings:
- Original: Once you’ve finished cooking, your plain soy milk is ready to drink as is, and can be enjoyed warm or cool.
- Pandan Flavour: Add 1/2 tsp of pandan flavouring or 1-2 fresh pandan leaves (knotted) to the soy milk while it’s simmering.½ tsp pandan flavouring
- Peanut Butter: Add 1 tbsp of smooth peanut butter while it’s simmering. Stir through until the peanut butter has completely melted. Best served warm.1 tbsp peanut butter
Video
Recipe Notes
- Dried vs Soaked Soybeans – For every 1/2 cup of dried soybeans, you’ll end up with around 2-3 cups of soaked soy beans.
- Water – Add 2 cups of water (preferably filtered) for every 1 cup of soaked soybeans when blending.
- Blending – If you are making a double or triple batch or are using a small blender, blend the soybeans in short bursts or smaller batches so you don’t overheat the machine.
- Straining – Make sure you’ve squeezed out as much soy milk as you can to get the most milk out of your soybeans!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in August, 2020. It has since been republished with new content.
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