Ginger Milk Curd (Geung Jap Naai)
A little Cantonese kitchen magic: hot sweet milk poured onto fresh ginger juice sets into a warm, silky, spicy pudding in minutes.
← Nouns Cooking · Dessert Parlour
Ingredients
- 200 g mature (old) ginger, unpeeled
- 400 ml full-fat fresh milk
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Milk powder (optional)
Method
- Finely grate the ginger and squeeze it hard through a cloth or fine sieve to collect about 4 tbsp of juice. Let it stand for a minute, then split the juice between two bowls, leaving the white starch that settles at the bottom of the jug behind.
- Warm the milk, sugar and milk powder in a small pan over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and it reaches 70–75°C (158–167°F): steaming, with tiny bubbles at the edge, but not boiling.
- Stir the ginger juice in each bowl, then pour half the hot milk into each bowl in one go from about 15 cm above, so the two mix instantly.
- Do not stir or move the bowls. Cover with a plate and leave for 10 min, until set like a soft custard.
- Eat warm, while the curd is still tender and the ginger is at its most fiery.
Tips
- It only sets with fresh, mature ginger juice and full-fat dairy milk; young ginger and UHT or plant milk usually fail.
- Use a thermometer the first time: milk that is too hot or too cool will not set.
Sources
Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:
Open Ginger Milk Curd (Geung Jap Naai) in Nouns Cooking