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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Steamed milk with egg whites (variations)

After the previous attempt at making steamed milk with egg whites, I was really keen to try out different versions of the really simple yet delicious treat.

Steamed chocolate milk with egg whites

I tried a chocolate version of 炖奶 in Hong Kong and found it quite good, thus I decided to make a chocolate version at home. I decided that since the dessert calls for only a few basic ingredients, the only ingredient that can be swapped would be the milk itself - since I wasn't sure how cocoa powder taste after steaming.

I used Meiji's chocolate milk (I love Meiji milk!) and as it tasted really quite rich and sweet on its own, I omitted quite a lot of of the sugar in the recipe and it turned out fine. I think that the chocolate version taste better when it is chilled. If you think about it, it tastes sort of like a healthy chocolate "pudding"? :)

Steamed soya bean milk with egg whites, gingko nuts and wolfberries 

As for the above, I decided that since flavoured milk was the swappable ingredient, I might as well try with soya bean milk. Just a little random note - I like soya bean milk, but it absolutely must be the Asian version, not the Western styled ones. I remember when I was studying in Australia, I once bought a pack of soy bean milk in the supermarket, thinking that it should taste the same as the local market's soya bean milk that I'm used to drinking growing up in Singapore. I was in for quite a surprise. My first sip and I was like all -makes face- "what's this??" I had thought that soy and soya bean are just interchangeable terms and so it was to my surprise that the two products taste totally different!

I tried googling to find the reason behind it but cannot actually find an explanation for this. So, yeah, the point behind this little blurb is that the soya bean milk I used in the recipe is the local Asian styled soya bean milk and not the Western styled soy milk. Maybe it's just my palate,  but I just think that the Asian one taste so much better. Perhaps it's a culture thing? One is just likely to be accustomed to specific tastes that you grow up with. Just like how the locals enjoy durians but others shrink away from it, or how the Koreans eat kimchi at almost every meal but some might find the taste of it overpowering.

Anyway. I think these tasted quite similar to the regular steamed milk ones, just with a slight hint of soya bean. Perhaps if I make it again in future I'll replace all the milk with the soya bean milk to make the taste more pronounced. Really, I do believe that most types of milks should work for this recipe. :)

Steamed chocolate milk with egg whites
300ml chocolate milk
90g egg whites
1 tbsp sugar (adjust according to how sweet your chocolate milk is)

Steamed soya bean milk with egg whites, gingko nuts and wolfberries
150ml fresh milk
150ml soya bean milk
90g egg whites
2 tbsp sugar
gingko nuts
wolfberries

Process - here.

Recommendation:
For the chocolate version, cool, refrigerate and serve chilled.
For soya bean version, serve hot.

3 comments:

  1. I read your post with much amusement and found it very interesting as I had the same experience myself. 
    I didnt know why soy milk tasted different here, until I learnt how to make it.  Asian soy milk is 1 part soy bean extract to 20 parts water.  Whereas soy milk is closer to 1:5 and hence a sticky and thicker product.  If you dilute it and add more sugar, you will find that it tastes closer to the asian version.    That and the way its cooked/ pasturised also affects it a little.  I am definately going home to make the ginko & goji version!  Thanks for the great post!!

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  2. ^^ cheers to the similar experience. oh, is that so? meaning the asian styled one is actually a diluter version? i never knew that! if u do give it a try, i hope u will enjoy it too!

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  3. What a great way to have your chocolate pudding without so much guilt! ;)

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