Fried milk (炸鲜奶) is a Cantonese dessert that just melts in your mouth. It’s a soft custard-y pudding bite that solidifies enough to coat in coconut flakes and fry until warm and toasty. Its light sweetness will be nostalgic for many of you!

How Do You Make Fried Milk?

Fried milk starts with a simple milk pudding that you cook with whole milk, heavy cream, and vanilla. It’s thickened with cornstarch (rather than gelatin), and chilled until set. Then you simply cut it into pieces, coat them in egg, and roll in panko and coconut flakes. The pudding can then be deep-fried or pan-fried until golden.

(Traditionally, you may see this fried milk coated in panko only, but I enjoy the addition of coconut flakes for extra flavor. I also feel it makes the end result less oily.)

Like so many Chinese dishes and desserts, it’s silken and light, and a study in contrasts. The crispy outside gives way to a pillowy, slightly bouncy jello-like pudding.

A Light and Easy Dessert

If you remember, I shared a recipe for Milk Pudding over the summer. It’s this same soft pudding bite simply rolled in coconut flakes.

It is so refreshing and cooling and a great summer dessert, but this recipe is that dessert taken one step further! It’s often served for large crowds and celebratory feasts. It’s also a dim sum item. How it’s made has always puzzled me, until now! One more culinary mystery solved!

Adjusting Sweetness

The best part of making any dessert at home is you can tailor the sweetness to your own tastes. I give a range of 5-6 tablespoons sugar.

Fried Milk Recipe Instructions

Lightly brush a flat-bottomed rectangular container with a thin layer of neutral oil and set aside. Don’t select too large of a container, as the volume of liquid you will end up with is only about 2½ cups. (I used a small 4.5×6.5 inch/12×16 cm glass tupperware container.)

Add the whole milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt, cornstarch, and sugar to a medium pot. Stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved and there are no lumps. Then put it on the stove over medium heat.

Stir constantly with a whisk or a rubber spatula while slowly heating the milk mixture. Don’t rush it with high heat, or the texture won’t be right. During the first 3-5 minutes, stir often. Around the 6 minute mark, you’ll notice it starting to thicken and coat the spatula (pull the spatula out of the liquid periodically to check). If not, increase the heat slightly and stir until it does start to thicken. Once the thickening has begun, immediately reduce the heat to medium-low, and stir vigorously for 15-30 seconds. The milk mixture will thicken very quickly at this point, hence the minute-by-minute instructions! Remove the pot from the heat once the milk mixture is somewhere between lightly runny and pasty.

ingredients for cantonese milk pudding in pot

Stir off the heat until the mixture is completely smooth. Immediately transfer it to the prepared container. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

When you’re ready to fry the milk, beat the egg for a good minute until it is runny and just slightly frothy. Mix the coconut flakes and panko in a bowl. Turn the milk pudding out onto a cutting board and cut it into ½-¾ inch (about 1.5cm) thick rectangles. You can also cut it into cubes if you prefer. Set aside.

coconut flakes and panko breadcrumbs mixed together

To a small pot, add just enough frying oil to submerge the fried milk. Preheat to 350°F/175°C. Dip each piece of milk pudding into the beaten egg, then coat it evenly in the panko mixture. Dropping in 3-4 pieces at a time, fry on each side for 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Repeat with the remaining pieces until you’ve fried them all.