Double-skin milk
Double-skin milk pudding
Seung pei naai (雙皮奶): steamed milk and egg white pudding with two delicate milk skins
Shunde in Guangdong first made it with rich buffalo milk, and today double-skin milk is a fixture in Hong Kong dessert parlours, served hot in winter or chilled in summer, often topped with red beans. The texture is the draw: a wobbling, smooth milk pudding under a fragile, sweet milk skin that wrinkles when you press it with a spoon, delicately milky and only lightly sweet. Two skins form, one as the boiled milk cools and a second after steaming. Steaming it over too fierce a heat ruins it, leaving it full of holes like a sponge and watery underneath. Chef's tip: pour the milk out of the bowl very slowly through the hole in the skin, so the first skin stays behind intact at the bottom and floats back up when you return the egg mixture.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the pudding
- 2 cups whole milkthe creamiest you can find
- 3 egg whitesabout 100 g
- 1 ⅜ oz caster sugar
To serve
- 4 tbsp sweetened cooked red beans (optional)
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Heat 2 cups whole milk in a pan over a medium heat until it steams and tiny bubbles form at the edge, about 176°F. Don't let it boil.
5 minStep 2: Pour the milk into 4 small heatproof bowls and leave uncovered for 15–20 minutes, until a thick, wrinkled skin forms on top.
20 minStep 3: Meanwhile, beat 3 egg whites with 1 ⅜ oz caster sugar using chopsticks or a fork just until the sugar dissolves, without making them foamy.
Step 4: With a knife tip, cut a 1 cm slit at the edge of each skin. Tilt the bowl and slowly pour the milk out through the slit into the egg whites, leaving the skin lying on the bottom of the bowl.
Step 5: Stir the milk and egg whites gently, then strain through a fine sieve into a jug and skim off any foam; bubbles make holes in the pudding.
Step 6: Pour the mixture slowly back into each bowl down the side, through the slit, so the skin lifts and floats on top again.
Step 7: Cover each bowl with foil or a plate. Steam over a low-medium heat, with the water at a gentle simmer, for 12–15 minutes, until just set with a slight wobble in the centre.
15 minStep 8: Leave the bowls in the steamer with the heat off for 5 minutes, then lift out; a second skin forms as the puddings cool.
5 minStep 9: Serve warm, or chill for 2 hours. Top with 4 tbsp sweetened cooked red beans if you like.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 170 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 20 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does double-skin milk take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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