Name: Chinese Ginger Milk Pudding
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 Tablespoons Fresh grated ginger juice (30 ml); 360 ml Milk (Divided between 2 bowls); 1 1/2 Tablespoons White sugar (23 g)

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Soft silky milk pudding with hints of ginger using only simple 3 ingredients! Give this popular Hong Kong ginger milk pudding a try.

What Is Chinese Ginger Milk Pudding?

Chinese ginger milk pudding, otherwise known as Cantonese ginger milk pudding or 姜撞奶 in Cantonese, is a popular, somewhat unusual Chinese milk pudding dessert created by combining fresh ginger juice, and hot milk along with sugar to sweeten the dessert.

What you’re left with is a dessert that resembles the look and consistency of Chinese tofu pudding but with a strong ginger aroma, making it a great dessert to enjoy especially during winter time.

How does it do this you ask?

Well, inside of the ginger is a special protease enzyme called Zingibain. When hot milk is added to the ginger juice that we extract from ginger root, it causes the enzyme to react with the milk (mainly with casein) and start curdling the milk, turning it from liquid form into a tofu-like substance. This chemical reaction can only occur at the right temperatures. Based on my own tests, this seems to occur around 70°C-75°C. Outside of this temperature range, your milk pudding might not curdle. And that’s how we end up with this delicious Hong Kong ginger milk curd recipe!

What Does Chinese Ginger Milk Pudding Taste Like?

The ginger milk pudding tastes similar to Chinese tofu pudding with a soft, silky tofu-like texture but with ginger flavor and a spicy kick from the ginger juice.

If you’ve never tried ginger juice milk pudding then you’re in for a treat!

Now let’s take a look at what you’ll need for this ginger milk pudding recipe.

Ginger Milk Pudding Ingredients

2 Tablespoons of fresh grated ginger juice (30ml)(approximately 60g of ginger)
Milk 360ml (divided between 2 bowls)
1 1/2 Tablespoons White sugar (23g)

Ingredient Notes

Ginger: When selecting ginger for this milk pudding with ginger juice recipe, make sure that you’re not using young ginger, which has a white pinkish color to it. This will not work with young ginger! You need to use old ginger, which has a light brownish color to it, and typically what we refer to as “ginger” when buying ingredients. Also make sure that the ginger isn’t moldy or expired!

Milk: I’m using 2% cow’s milk for this recipe, however, 1% or whole milk will also work for this recipe. I don’t recommend using skimmed milk for this recipe.

Substitutions

Cow’s milk: You can substitute it with some water buffalo milk, which is what it was traditionally made with if you can find it, if you live in North America, then good luck finding it 😆.
White sugar: You can use white rock sugar in place of white sugar. You could use something else like brown sugar, however, it will lead to a brownish color in the dessert, which I don’t think you want. Also, brown sugar has molasses in it which will affect the taste.

How to Make Ginger Milk Pudding

Stovetop method:

Peel off the skin from the ginger
Grate ginger with grater or slice ginger into small pieces and put it in a food processor. If you’re using a food processor, don’t process it for too long or it might heat up and kill off the ginger enzyme.

Use a mesh strainer to strain out the pulp leaving the ginger juice.

Stir the ginger juice to evenly distribute the ginger starch at the bottom.
Divide the ginger juice among two small bowls.

Now add in your milk + sugar into a small pot.

Heat up the milk until it reaches a temperature between 70-75°C.

Measuring temperature of milk in sauce pan

Using a spoon, stir the ginger juice in the bowl to mix the starch around.
Now from a height of around 1 foot, pour the milk into the ginger juice in the two bowls.

Finally, cover the two bowls with a plate for about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, check and see if the ginger pudding has finished solidifying by placing a spoon on top and seeing if it stays put or if it sinks down.

Spoon sitting on top of ginger milk pudding

The dessert is ready to be eaten at this point if you have curdled the ginger milk successfully.

Shot of ginger milk pudding in small bowl

Microwave method:

Peel off the skin from the ginger.
Grate ginger with grater or slice ginger into small pieces and put it in a food processor. If you’re using a food processor, don’t process it for too long or it might heat up and kill off the ginger enzyme.
Use a mesh strainer to strain out the pulp leaving the ginger juice.
Stir the ginger juice to evenly distribute the ginger starch at the bottom.
Divide the ginger juice among two small bowls.
Now add in your milk + sugar into a microwavable cup or bowl and mix everything well together.
Place the bowl or cup into your microwave and heat up the milk until it reaches a temperature between 70-75°C.
Using a spoon, stir the ginger juice in the bowl to mix the starch around.
Now from a height of around 1 foot, pour the heated milk into the ginger juice in the two bowls.
Finally, cover the two bowls with a plate for about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, check and see if the ginger pudding has finished solidifying by placing a small light spoon on top and seeing if it stays put or if it sinks down.
If the spoon successfully doesn’t sink down all the way, then your ginger milk pudding is now ready to be consumed.

Tips

Only use fresh ginger juice to ensure success for making this ginger milk dessert.
Once you start removing the skin off of the ginger, you need to work fast, otherwise the chemical reaction will not occur and the milk will not curdle with the ginger juice. I estimate that you have around a 15-20 minute window before you miss your chance at successfully making this dessert.
Use a thermometer to get accurate temperature readings for the milk. If the milk is either too cold or too hot, then it won’t work!
Pour the milk from a height of around a foot from the bowl. This will ensure that the milk will “splash” and mix well with the ginger juice.
Use a sieve when pouring out the milk onto the ginger juice to remove any bubbles on the surface of the dessert.
For a more gingery taste, use 1 1/2 Tablespoons of ginger juice instead of 1 Tablespoon.
For a firmer ginger milk pudding dessert, add in 1 Tablespoon of milk powder to the sauce pan with the milk and sugar and mix well while it’s being heated up.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

Using ginger juice that has been sitting around for a while, leading to the ginger pudding not curdling.
Not using a thermometer when heating up the milk, leading to the ginger milk pudding not curdling.
Stirring the ginger milk mixture after pouring the milk in that causes interference with the curdling process. Do not mix it after pouring the milk into the ginger juice!
Waiting too long to eat the ginger milk pudding dessert, leading to a bitter taste.

Storage Tips

The dessert should be eaten within 30 minutes of making it and should not be stored. If the dessert is left sitting for too long, it will become bitter.

Recipes That Go Well With Ginger Milk Pudding

Here are some other recipes that go well with this ginger pudding recipe:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why Did My Ginger Milk Pudding Not Curdle?

Your ginger milk pudding is not setting due to a number of reasons:

You didn’t use enough ginger juice with the milk. You need a certain amount of the protease enzyme to ensure that the milk curdles.
You used the wrong milk temperature with the ginger juice. This one is very important. If you use too low of a milk temperature, then the chemical reaction won’t take place, but if your milk temperature is too high, it might destroy the enzymes responsible for the curdling process. Make sure to measure your milk temperature prior to adding it into the ginger juice. From my own tests, the best temperature range is between 70°C-75°C.
You left the ginger juice out for too long. The enzyme inside of ginger has a very short shelf-life. If you leave it out for too long, then the enzyme will no longer function properly.
You forgot to mix the ginger juice prior to adding in the milk.
You didn’t give the milk pudding enough time to curdle. Let it rest undisturbed for at least 15 minutes after pouring the hot milk into the ginger juice.
You didn’t pour the hot milk from a high enough height to cause the ginger juice to mix well with the hot milk.

Can I Use a Plant-Based Milk Instead of Cow’s Milk?

No, it doesn’t work with a plant-based milk.

How Do I Find Out if My Ginger Milk Pudding Was Successful?

Place a small light spoon on top of the ginger milk pudding after 15 minutes and see if it remains in place. If the spoon sinks or the whole dessert turns into ginger milk instead of pudding, then you have failed 😢.

What Temperature Should My Milk Be Heated To?

I have found the best results to be between 70°C-75°C. If you’re using a large sauce pan to heat the milk, you may get inaccurate temperature readings as there isn’t enough milk for the thermometer to get an accurate reading. I suggest using a small sauce pan and even tilting it slightly so that all of the milk pools to one end to get a more accurate reading.

Can I Microwave the Milk Instead of Heating It up on a Stovetop?

Yes, this also works!

Why Does My Ginger Milk Curd Taste Bitter?

You left it out for too long. Make sure to consume the ginger milk curd soon after it has curdled to avoid it turning bitter.

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