Steamed Milk Pudding

Since the Christmas baking, I've been still fighting off the itch to work in the kitchen. As much as I want to fire up the heat and cook myself some steelhead trout paired with a braeburn apple and bulgur salad or something savoury of the like, I needed to make something that uses simple ingredients that I already have in my fridge. While I was brainstorming for recipe ideas, I was half listening to my dad's Chinese program on a cooking show. And on that particular segment, they were tasting some of Hong Kong's finest steamed milk pudding. Ah-ha!

I started my research of the simplest ingredients with the simplest instructions, also factoring all the health notes and picking something that asks for healthier if not ingredients, then measurements. (ie. 1 tbsp of sugar vs. 2 tbsps of sugar). And why I always look for something simple is, face it, I don't have a lot of time (and sometimes patience) to do fancy recipes over again. For me, this is sort of my journey to build up my repetoire. I want something I'd want to make again. So, if the time comes that I want to make steamed milk pudding again.... I will!

So here it is with a bit of my own variations :

Steamed Milk Pudding

2 eggs
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
1 tsp honey

1. Beat eggs really well. (I was lazy the first time and did this half-assed, which left mini egg clumps in the pudding which I had to fish out. So beat it well. Some will choose to pour it through a sieve).
2. Warm up the milk in the microwave to approx. room temperature and add it to the eggs. Add sugar to warm mixture and mix well.
3. Pour pudding mixture into bowl and skim off any visible bubbles (or else it will leave holes on the top of your pudding).
4. Cover bowl with foil (this is also to prevent holes and leaving the surface of your pudding nice and smooth).
5. Steam for 10-12 minutes. Lifting lid to release steam every 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Serve warm drizzling a tiny amount of honey on top.

Ta da! Enjoy.

There's different variations to steam. In a wok, in a bamboo steamer... I just did it in a pot with a steaming rack inside.

The pudding came out super slippery and smooth. The texture was just right. By the third bowl, I added a tad bit more milk than the 1 cup and I think it came out even smoother. The 1 tbsp sugar didn't add very much sweetness at all to the pudding, but the honey on top was just enough.

This was absolutely delightful on a cold, winter night.



Here are some photos of the process :