Ginger puddings

Serves 2

If you love the taste of ginger, this simple dessert is for you. It requires no baking or steaming and has only three ingredients: milk, sugar and ginger juice. The secret is the way the ginger reacts with heated milk, causing it to set. You need to use old fibrous ginger because it’s the starch in the juice of old ginger that sets the milk. Also, unless you know your temperatures, you will need a digital kitchen thermometer. Once you add the hot milk to the ginger juice, you must leave it undisturbed. You can then eat this dessert immediately or chill it first. Said to be from the Pearl River Delta, this refreshing pudding is served at the Australia Dairy Company in Hong Kong’s Yau Ma Tei district and the Yee Shun Dairy Company in Causeway Bay.

100 g (3½ oz) grated old ginger

360 ml (12¼ fl oz) milk

1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar, or to taste

Using a microplane or grater, grate the ginger and squeeze out the juice through muslin (cheesecloth) or a fine sieve into a bowl. You need 2 tablespoonfuls of juice. You should see a fine layer of white starch. Put 1 tablespoon of juice into each of two bowls. Heat the milk and sugar to 60–65°C (140–150°F), stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Stir the ginger juice, then pour the milk from a height of about 10 cm (4 inches) into the ginger juice. Don’t stir and don’t move the bowls. Leave for 5–10 minutes to set. Serve warm or chilled.