Double Skin Milk Pudding

I remember there is a Tong-Sui place in Hong Kong famous for their Double Skinned Milk Puddings. Apparently they only use fresh milk from Australia. I remember thinking when I first walked into the shop that .. "Now.. why would I want to try this milk thingy in Hong Kong thats imported from Australia...especially when I'm from Australia....???!?!?".

After the 1st spoon, I was hooked. It was sooo good... :) It was like a very very light and delicate panna cotta. Only probably a lot more healthier since it uses a lot less sugar and calls for milk instead of cream.

Now that I'm back in Australia, we don't have any Cantonese dessert places over here that makes such delicacies. So continuing on with my Chinese dessert experimenting phase. After a couple of goggling attempts for a recipe written in english (I can't read much chinese and definitely can't type any of it), combined with a couple of failed attempts, I finally managed to come up with a somewhat full-proof recipe. It actually turned out to be quite simple. The ratio that seems to work well for me comes to about 1 rice bowl of full cream milk to 1 egg white to 2 teaspoons of white sugar.

Double Skin Milk Pudding - 雙皮奶
with help from this recipe

Ingredients (for 1 bowl):

• 1 rice bowl of full cream milk (filled to about 1cm from the rim)
• 2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 egg white (beaten till it smooth and white)

Pour the milk into small saucepan, add sugar and bring slowly to a simmer over low heat. Remove from heat as the milk starts to bubble. Do not over boil. Pour the hot milk into the individual rice bowl(s). Try to remove any foam on the top as this hinders the skin being able to be formed properly. Leave to cool for about 10mins.

When a skin has formed on the surface of each bowl of the cooling milk, use a chopstick or fork to lift up a corner of the skin just enough to gently pour the milk out of each rice bowl into a larger bowl. Leave the skin that is now at the bottom of each individual bowl behind.

Beat the egg white until it starts to turns white. Then combine this with the milk that is left cooling in the large bowl. Strain the mixture through a sieve at least twice to remove any lumps and excess foam. Scrape off any bubbles that form at the top.

Place a steamer rack in a wok and add enough water so it just touches the rack. Bring the water to boil. The wok will be used as a steamer.

Pour the milk back into the individual bowls. The skin will float to the top. Cover each bowl with a layer of glad wrap. Place the bowls of milk on top of a rack in the wok, then cover and steam for 10 minutes over medium heat.

The resulting double skinned milk is pure white, creamy and is very smooth and mildly sweet. As the milk starts to cool again, a second layer of tasty skin is formed, sticking to the edges of the bowl. Hence the 'double skin' name.. :)

Notes:

• When simmering the milk with the sugar, try not to stir the mixture, as this seems to break down the ability of the milk to form the 1st layer of skin.
• Egg whites only need to be lightly beaten -- we are not making meringues ! So be careful to not over do it. Otherwise you will have a lot of 'bubbles' when you combine the milk with the egg whites.

I did have to try this a couple of times before it turned out alright. If anyone does try out this recipe, pls let me know if it turns out ok... :)