Fresh soy milk (Doujiang)

1. Wash the soya beans thoroughly and soak them in plenty of cold water for at least 8 hours (or overnight) until doubled in size.

2. Drain and rinse the beans and blend them with a third of the water for 2-3 minutes until completely smooth.

3. Strain the purée with the remaining water through a fine cloth or nut milk bag and squeeze the pulp out well.

4. Bring the strained soy milk to the boil in a large pan over medium heat, stirring constantly – careful, it easily boils over and catches.

5. Skim off the foam and simmer over low heat for another 8-10 minutes so the raw bean taste disappears.

6. Stir in the sugar and serve warm or chilled.

Tip: In China, fresh soy milk with fried dough sticks (youtiao) is the classic breakfast pair. You can mix the leftover soy pulp (okara) into pancakes, meatballs or bread dough; it is also drunk savoury, with soy sauce and spring onion.