A tried and tested recipe for making perfect ginger milk curd, a popular Cantonese dessert with an interesting flavour and silky texture.
A dessert with unusual flavour
I fell in love with ginger milk curd “at first taste” years ago. Its unusual flavour combination and the silky, slippery texture was a new experience on my palate. I didn’t realize back then that it was so simple to make.
You only need ginger, milk and sugar, without using any curdling agent or any sophisticated culinary technique. However, producing a curd with the right texture is a tricky business. Through trial and error, I’ve finally found a formula to make the perfect ginger milk curd.
A “magical” curdling process
Originating in Shawan town, Guangdong province in China, ginger milk curd (姜汁撞奶) is one of the most popular desserts in Cantonese cuisine. The literal meaning of its Chinese name is “ginger juice bumping into milk”. As the name suggests, you simply pour hot milk onto ginger juice, then you’ll have a bowl of curd. It’s rather magical, isn’t it? This is how Wikipedia explains its biochemical principle:
“Ginger contains the protease zingipain. When milk is added to ginger juice, this protease catalyses denaturation of the protein in the milk, changing it from a water-soluble form to a water-insoluble form, and leads to the formation of milk curd. ”
It was purely out of curiosity that I first tried to make this dessert. Unfortunately, I soon realized that I couldn’t always guarantee success. Sometimes I would end up with a bowl of lumpy milk or even just liquid. In order to find a fail-proof formula, I’ve done lots of research and kitchen experiments. Finally, I’ve found the solutions.
The best ratio of ginger juice, milk and sugar
Too much ginger juice will make the dessert too spicy to enjoy, then you will need quite a bit of sugar to balance the flavour. If the ginger juice is not enough, the curdling process won’t be triggered.
In my recipe, I use 1 tablespoon of ginger juice for 200ml milk. This way the curd is firm enough and the spiciness is compensated with 2 teaspoons of sugar.
It creates an ideal taste for me personally (like most Chinese, I don’t have a sweet tooth). If you like it sweeter, I suggest pouring a little honey over the curd as ginger and honey is a classic flavour combination.
The optimum temperature for the milk
I’ve found many recipes with vague instructions: “the milk is hot to touch with your tongue but won’t burn you”, “heat up the milk until it almost boils”, “the milk should be at 70-80°C”, etc. It doesn’t always work when following those recipes. Eventually, I bought a kitchen thermometer (that was £2.99 well spent) to experiment. 70°C/158°F appeared to be the right answer.
Apart from heating the milk on a stove, I also tried using a microwave. For an 800-watt microwave like mine, you need 1 minute and 40 seconds to heat the milk (chilled) to an ideal temperature (add the sugar halfway through). If your microwave has a different wattage, please see the conversion suggestion in recipe note.
Volià! That’s it! To me, cooking is an art. However, my ginger milk curd experiments remind me that it’s also a scientific endeavour.
Fail-proof ginger milk curd (姜汁撞奶)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ginger juice - from about 30g ginger
- 200 ml fresh milk - see note 1
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- Honey and fresh berries - optional
Instructions
Prepare the ginger juice
- Peel and finely grate the ginger. Press grated ginger through a sieve placed on top of a small bowl. You need to get about 1 tablespoon of ginger juice.
Heat up the milk
- Option A: If you have a kitchen thermometerHeat the milk in a saucepan. Stir in sugar when milk is warm. Closely observe the temperature on the thermometer. When it reaches 70°C/158°F, remove the pan from the heat.
- Option B: If you have a microwaveHeat chilled milk (out of the fridge right before using) in a container on full power (800-watt, see note 2 for power conversion) for 1 minute. Take it out and stir in the sugar. Then microwave for a further 40 seconds.
Make the curd
- When the milk is ready, stir the ginger juice with a spoon. Pour the milk quickly onto the juice.
- Leave to set. Do not move the bowl or stir the milk. The curd will be fully set in about 10 minutes.
Serve the curd
- You may serve it warm (traditional way) or cold (what I prefer). If you wish, pour a little honey on top and decorate with fresh berries before serving.
NOTES
NUTRITION
NUTRITION DISCLOSURE: Nutritional information on this website is provided as a courtesy to readers. It should be considered estimates. Please use your own brand nutritional values or your preferred nutrition calculator to double check against our estimates.
Diana says
Made 2 bowls of this recipe and both turned out perfectly. So simple, yet so delicious. I was a bit worried as I was struggling to get even a tablespoon of juice from my slightly old ginger root but it still set. Thank you!
Wei Guo says
That’s wonderful to hear Diana!
Samuel says
Can do with the sugar? I prefer to add palm sugar syrup before serving if possible
Wei Guo says
Do you mean if it’s ok to skip sugar? Yes, you can.
Esther says
I am lactose intolerant. Has anyone tried this with lactose-free milk?
Jenni says
I’ve not done it yet, but as the chemical process is with the proteins in milk rather than the sugars, I can’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Rachel says
This was great! After seeing some things on social media about how much trouble they were having getting this to set up, I didn’t expect it to set up so well on my first try :).
One question, though: I’ve never had this before, so I don’t know the exact texture to expect. I definitely had spoonable curds but they were sitting in a separated clear liquid underneath. Is that supposed to happen? Regardless, it was delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Wei Guo says
Wonderful to know you’ve enjoyed it! It’s perfectly normal to have some water at the bottom as long as it’s not too much.
Ivonne says
Just made it and it turned out perfect!!!!!I don’t have a thermometer so I just rolled the microwave recommended time and it turned out silky smooooth. Thank you so much for the recipe!! Will definitely make it again and serve it with fresh cut mangoes !!! Thank you!!!
Wei Guo says
That’s wonderful to hear Ivonne! With fresh mangoes? Sounds like a great idea!
Celina says
I’ve tried this and it works perfectly!
One thing to note is: freshly ginger juice must be used! FRESH!!
Works like magic! Thank you for sharing this very rich treat!
Wei Guo says
You’re right Celina. The ginger juice has to be freshly extracted. Happy to know you’ve enjoyed it!
Kat says
Thanks so much for this recipe! I did it twice and it worked the second time. I thought id share what I did differently the second time and maybe it will help those whose ginger milk isn’t setting. First of all, I worked really quickly so the ginger juice sat out for barely a minute. I was very careful with heating the milk and ended up somewhere between 70ºC and 75ºC. Lastly, moments before pouring the milk, I mixed the ginger juice. It tastes amazing!
Wei Guo says
Thank you Kat for sharing your experience! Very happy to know you’ve enjoyed this treat!
Jennifer YS says
REALLY!!! This was so easy and taste so good. Smooth in texture and soothing for the body.
I can’t thank you enough for sharing this recipe. My mother’s birthday is coming up and I will be making this for her. She WILL be so impressed and I owe it all to YOU!
Thank you!
Wei @ Red House Spice says
Wonderful to hear that Jennifer! Wish your mum a very happy birthday (She is very lucky to have a caring daughter like you)!
Shuku says
Success at last with your recipe! I’m convalescing at my parenrs’ home after major surgery, and my father just had a cataract so I thought I’d make it for him. Used our microwave and it turned out awesome! (Never had any success with it at my apartment, because I haven’t got a thermometer or a microwave…)
Even my mom loved it! Thank you so much for the detailed instructions!
Wei @ Red House Spice says
You’re welcome Shuku! So happy to know you and your parents liked it!
Myron says
I followed your recipe just about exactly and it came out great . Everything coagulated and was very smooth and softer than tofu when eaten. When the milk was at the temperature mentioned. I did a test and poured 200ml all at once from about an inch above the bowl using a beaker and also did another bowl ladling in 100ml milk twice . I was a bit worried doing the ladling twice but everything seem to set wonderfully. The only long process was grating ginger juice for 4 bowls. Very happy to find your recipe that works and thanks for sharing the little things that are the important keys to making it work.
Wei @ Red House Spice says
That’s great to hear Myron!
Violet says
A proper ginger grater makes the juicing go quickly.