Ginger Milk Custard

I was watching Episode 70 of MasterChef Australia the other day and saw that one of the contestants on the show, Poh had made a ginger milk custard as part of her cooking challenge. Realising that this dessert was actually something I had been shown how to make by my auntie in the past, hubby was quite keen on me making him some to taste :p

Ginger milk curd (Chinese: 薑汁撞奶), also known as ginger-juice milk curd or simply ginger milk, is a Chinese dessert. The main ingredients are ginger and milk.

It should taste like "tofufa" but with a nice kick of ginger. This tasty dessert is nice to eat at anytime of the day or night :)

So, here's my auntie's recipe for how to make Ginger Milk Custard:

Serves 1

Ingredients:

125ml milk
1 tsp sugar
1 - 2 tsp ginger juice
a few drops of white vinegar (to help curdle the milk)

Method:

1. Put ginger juice and vinegar into a mug.

2. Heat milk with sugar in a small saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves. Once the milk reaches a simmer (when little bubbles form on the surface), take saucepan off the heat IMMEDIATELY.

3. Stir for one to two minutes with a wooden spoon. (This is to lower the temperature).

4. Pour milk mixture into the mug containing the ginger juice and vinegar. Then, using another mug (of equal size), pour the liquid in and out of the two mugs 10 times. When completed, pour the milk into a serving bowl and leave it to set. Do not disturb the mixture for around 10 minutes.

5. Once mixture has curdled, serve it warm. (Texture should be very soft, kinda like a “tofu-fa” )

Notes and tips:

To get ginger juice, you need to firstly grate the ginger (without the skin) and after that squeeze the grated ginger through a fine cloth or filter to get it's juice. Alternatively, grate the ginger into a bowl and then use the back of a spoon to press the grated ginger against the bowl to squeeze the juice out.

For a stronger ginger taste, I would recommend adding 2 teaspoons of ginger juice to this dish