Almond Soya Beancurd

After I successfully made soya beancurd pudding, my family asked for almond flavoured beancurd, which is a popular variation you can order besides the original soya flavour.

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My family told me to use the bottled almond syrup which is commonly sold at all local major supermarkets. Before this, I do not even know that this almond syrup existed. I was skeptical at first, but after adding just a tbsp to the basic recipe, the beancurd pudding indeed tasted similar to the almond beancurd pudding sold outside. I have no idea if this is what the stalls do for the almond flavour, but it is definitely an effortless trick that worked for me.

List of ingredients – top left, clockwise:

• 30 grams 'Unisoy' Soya Bean Milk Powder (No Added Sugar) – Note: you can also use the non-organic, sweetened version.
• 5 grams 'Polleney' Soya Bean Milk Powder
• 15 grams 'Nestle' 'Coffeemate' coffee creamer
• 15 grams sugar to taste
• 350 ml hot water
• 1 tbsp almond syrup to taste
• 5 grams instant jelly powder

Instruction:

1. In a saucepan, add all the ingredients except instant jelly powder. Heat until warm but not boiling, whisking or stirring the soya milk until fully dissolved.
2. Stir in instant jelly powder until fully dissolved. Run the soya milk through a sieve for about 4 times.
3. Gently pour into 2 bowls and flatten surface bubbles with the back of a spoon. Leave to cool at room temperature, then transfer bowls to chill in the fridge.

Tips on getting silky, soft and smooth texture:

1. As the quantities are small, it is recommended to use a digital weighing scale for accuracy. Each gram of instant jelly powder makes a difference in the resulting firmness.
2. Sieve the mixture for about 4 times before pouring into chilling bowls.
3. When pouring the mixture into bowls, do so gently and at a low height.
4. Flatten surface bubbles with the back of a spoon.

This recipe is adapted from chanzhf who generously shared his take on the popular 'lao ban' recipe online. Source: HWZ: "Sharing lao ban recipe. Who wants?"