Name: How To Make Ginger Milk Curd Or Pudding
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 100 g peeled and grated ginger (to extract 20g ginger juice); 400 ml whole milk; 20 g sugar

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Ginger milk curd or pudding is a popular Cantonese dessert made with only three ingredients: ginger juice, whole milk, and sugar. The recipe calls for boiling the milk at a certain temperature and combining it with the ginger juice. The mixture is set aside to start the curdling process, resulting in a silky and creamy semi-solid texture.

Learn how to make ginger milk curd with my foolproof recipe guide. If you love pudding desserts, check out my recipes for Double Skin Milk (Chinese Steamed Milk Pudding), Eggless Homemade Mango Pudding, and Mango Sago Dessert. Have a pudding party with these sweet and mouthwatering desserts.

What Is Ginger Milk Curd?

Ginger milk curd is a pudding dessert made from ginger juice. Ginger juice is extracted from grated ginger, but you can also get it using a juicer. Generally, ginger has a hint of spiciness and sweetness.

It contains ginger protease or zingibain, an enzyme that causes curdling when combined with casein from milk. When ginger juice and milk are combined, the mixture solidifies and becomes silky and creamy. The curdling process can only happen with the right milk temperature, between 70°C and 80°C.

This sweet dessert can be served hot after setting and solidifying. You can also serve it cold after chilling it in the fridge, making it a perfect sweet dessert for summer. If you have leftover ginger juice, you can make use of it by making ginger juice with water and sugar.

How To Store Ginger Milk Curd

Ginger milk curd is best served as soon as possible. It is usually eaten while warm, after setting for 10 minutes. So, I recommend making only the amount you can eat on the same day.

However, you can also chill it in the fridge and store it for up to three days. Store it in an airtight container or cover it with a lid or plastic wrap, ensuring no air can enter. Although you can store it in the fridge to eat for later, keep in mind that the texture will not be the same as freshly made ginger milk curd.

In time, the consistency of ginger milk curd tends to separate or break down in the fridge. It will not be as smooth and silky as freshly made ginger milk curd.

Tips And Suggestions For Ginger Milk Curd

Making ginger milk curd may be a challenging recipe for first-timers as there are several factors that can affect the curdling process. The outcome depends on the type of milk, milk fat content, and ginger. But the most important factor is the milk’s temperature, which ultimately affects the curdling process.

So before proceeding with the steps in making ginger milk curd, read my tips and suggestions below. It may be a long list, but it will surely help you make a successful ginger milk curd.

Ginger: Not all gingers are the same. For this recipe, it is highly recommended to get older gingers since they have a higher ginger protease content to promote the curdling process. Young ginger still works fine with this recipe, but the taste will be slightly spicier. Moreover, it may not be as silky and semi-solid because of the low ginger protease content. Keep in mind that you should only use freshly squeezed ginger juice. That is why I do not recommend squeezing the juice in advance and storing it in the fridge since this will cause the enzymes to weaken and not promote curdling.
Milk: Most recipes use whole milk because of its high-fat content. The higher the fat content, the more chances it solidifies. Plus, it gives you a fuller and richer taste. If you use low-fat or skim milk, it may be thin and watery and not as creamy as whole milk. You can help with the curdling process of regular milk by adding baking milk powder if you are not using whole milk. Some recipes use soy milk as an alternative to animal-derived milk. However, the cooking process will be different. You will have to heat the soy milk on medium heat and continuously whisk while scraping off some soy residue. Using heated soy milk will produce a thick and semi-solid texture but not as silky and solid as whole milk.
Temperature: For the ginger protease and casein to react, it needs to be at the right temperature. The milk should be heated up to 80°C. When pouring the hot milk onto the ginger juice, the heat will drop to approximately 70°C. Take note that it should not be too hot as well since this will destroy the enzyme and hinder the curdling process. You can use a kitchen thermometer to make sure that the milk and sugar are boiled up to 80°C.
Pouring and mixing: It’s not as simple as pouring the milk over the ginger juice. You need to shake the ginger juice once more to mix it a bit before pouring the hot milk. Moreover, you should pour the milk at a proper height that will naturally stir it without needing a stirrer. Plus, the height from where it is poured will also bring the temperature lower to promote coagulation as you do not want it to be too hot. Lastly, do not mix the ginger juice and milk after pouring the milk. In fact, not even the slightest movement of the mixture should be made. If you stir it after pouring, it will not curdle.
Sugar: Sugar can be used to counter the peppery flavors of ginger if you prefer. You can use maple syrup, white sugar, brown sugar, muscovado, or agave syrup.

What You Need To Make Homemade Ginger Milk Curd

After taking notes of my tips and suggestions on milk, ginger, temperature, and cooking techniques, gather the kitchen items and the three ingredients. Get a pan or pot for boiling the milk. You will also need a grater and sieve to extract the ginger juice or use a juicer if you have one.

If you want to do the grating process faster, you can use a food processor to make bits of ginger. From there, you can use a sieve or cheesecloth to squeeze out as much juice as you can.

Kitchen Items

Grater and a strainer to extract the juice (or juicer)
Knife or vegetable peeler to remove the ginger skin
Pot or pan for boiling
Kitchen thermometer to measure the milk’s temperature (optional)
Dessert bowls with cover
Stirrer to mix the milk and sugar

Ingredients

100g peeled and grated ginger (to extract 40g ginger juice)
400ml whole milk
20g sugar

Steps To Make Homemade Ginger Milk Curd

To help you follow the recipe easily, watch my short tutorial videos on Tiktok and Instagram. The steps are simple, just peel and grate the ginger and extract the juice using a sieve or cheesecloth. Then, boil the milk and sugar together and combine it with the ginger juice to start the curdling process.

Peel the ginger using a vegetable peeler. Then, grate the ginger with a cheese grater or food processor.

Next, extract the juice using a sieve or cheesecloth.

Pour the ginger juice into two dessert bowls. Each bowls has 20g of ginger juice.

In a pot or pan, add the whole milk and sugar and stir well.

Heat the milk until it reaches 80°C or until it boils. Once it boils, pour the milk immediately into the serving bowls. Make sure it is at the right height to allow it to stir naturally and lower the temperature.

After pouring the milk, DO NOT STIR and cover the dessert bowls with a lid. Set aside for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the ginger milk curd should be semi-solid and silky. Enjoy the ginger milk curd while warm or chill it in the fridge to cool.