Pudding - Test 1

Dear Reader,

I want pudding.  Not just any pudding (especially not the shapeless American kind).  I want the flower shaped pudding you find in any convenient store in Taiwan.  Since I am inconveniently located in an area that lacks such Asian snacks, I suppose I will have to attempt to make my own.

First, to learn about pudding... (no, not the shapeless American kind).  Well, the closest I found was "custard pudding".

So tonight, lets get steaming!

Ingredients

• 100g Granulated Sugar*
• 1 TBSP Water
• 1 + 1/2 TBSP Hot Water
• 2 Eggs
• 250 ml milk

*Once again, playing with the washed raw sugar.

 Step 1: Make the caramel syrup

1. In a saucepan combine 1 TBSP water with 40g sugar.  Dissolve on medium-high heat. 
2. Swirl occasionally until the syrup begins to bubble, then swirl constantly until a nice caramel colour.  The darker the colour the more bitter it is.  This step of gaging the bitterness of the caramel by its colour is very difficult when you use the washed raw sugar like I did because right off the bat the syrup is already tinted tan.
3. Remove from heat. And carefully add the hot water, a few splashes at a time.  Swirl to combine.
4. Next, pour into a heat-safe container. In my case, a glass cocoa-mug I found at the dollar store

Step 2: Make the custard, part I

1. Crack the egg, crack the egg, crack... oh, there's only 2 eggs.

2. Whisk the eggs

 

Step 3: Make the custard, part II

1. In a saucepan, dissolve the remaining 60g sugar into the milk. I used medium-high heat. Stir constantly, didn't let it boil.

 

Step 4: Make the custard, part III

1. Combine the sugared milk and the eggs.  Didn't want the eggs to curdle so I did this slowly.  I first added a little of the heated sugar-milk into the scrambled egg.  Whisk.  Then slowly added the rest of the sugar-milk, whisking the whole way.



2. I created quite a bit of foam (was too energetic in my whisking), so poured the liquid through a strainer, and it caught quite a bit of the foam.
3. I ran it through a strainer again, into a more "pour friendly" container.  Didn't catch any more foam, so I suppose I could have just strained it the first time into the "pour friendly" container

4. Pour the liquid slowly into the mug, try not to upset the syrup.



5. Cover the mug with foil

Step 5:  Steep the mug

1. In a big saucepan (one that the mug will fit into and has a cover), place some paper towels, then the mug on top of the towel.  
2. Add hot water into the saucepan until covered 1/2 of the mug. 



3. Cover the saucepan and cook on low-low-looooowww heat** for 15-20 minutes.  Just enough to keep the water hot, but not boiling. 

4. Turn off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes before opening and removing the mug.
5. Cool in refrigerator, or if you get impatient like me, I ate it warm.

Thoughts 

• It was good...but... it's not pudding!  It's flan! grr...grr..grrrr...
• But not flan like the type you can get at Walmart.  The consistency is right for the pudding I want, but the flavor is just not there
• Urgh, too egg-y.  Taste like a sweet chawamushi
• Whow...seriously??  These recipe providers really must have a sweet-tooth.  I already cut down the sugar level in my version and it's still too sweet

**I did mention low right?  Seriously... there is a reason for that...

Mug that was on low heat that let the water boil... no, not tapioca (humm, interesting idea though)... those would be air bubbles. Major no-no!

Mug that was on SUPER LOW heat... Bubble-free!

Okay, that was an interesting experiment.  Try it if you like flan, I'm going to do more research on how to adjust the flavor... Enjoy!

(Come on! Inspiriation for a sign-off)
Tappy