Salty Soy Milk

Ingredients

The soy milk

• 1 litreunsweetened soy milk
• fresh and thick if possible
• not sweetened or flavoured

In each bowl

• 1 tablespoondried shrimp
• soaked briefly
• 2 teaspoonsrice vinegar
• 1 teaspoonsoy sauce
• 1 tablespoonzha cai
• pickled mustard stem, chopped
• chopped spring onion
• chopped coriander

To top

• 1youtiao
• fried dough stick, torn
• a little chilli oil
• toasted sesame seeds

Sometimes added

• a drizzle of sesame oil
• dried seaweed flakes
• a pinch of sugar

Directions

1. Pour it from a little way above. Check the carton before buying. Fresh thick soy milk curdles best. Soak the dried shrimp briefly. Cover them with plenty of warm water. Give them about ten full minutes. Drain them well afterward though. Some cooks use them entirely dry.
2. Toast the shrimp briefly in a dry pan. Give them about one full minute. Chop all of the zha cai finely. Chop it up small and quite even. Large pieces are too salty in one bite.
3. Rinse it if it is genuinely very salty. Then squeeze it out entirely dry. Chop the spring onion and coriander. Chop them just before serving. Keep them all fresh and green. Set them ready beside the bowls. Put the vinegar in each bowl first. The acid must be in place first.
4. Add the soy sauce to each bowl. Add the shrimp and the pickles. Have all the bowls ready first. Heat all the soy milk in a pan. Bring it right up to a full boil. It must be genuinely near boiling.
5. Use a pan larger than seems needed. Stir it occasionally to prevent that. Stir it often as it heats through. Use a moderate heat rather than high. Pour the hot milk into each bowl. Pour it from a little way above.
6. Pour it steadily and confidently. Do not trickle it in at all slowly. Add a little more vinegar to it. Tear the youtiao over each bowl. Add it at the very last moment. It softens within a minute or two. Scatter spring onion and coriander over.
7. Add the herbs in right at the end. They wilt down in the hot liquid. Serve it immediately while hot. The youtiao softens within minutes. Make each bowl fresh to order.

Technique

• The soy milk must be genuinely near boiling when poured, since cold milk will not curdle properly — that heat is what makes it work. Put the vinegar and soy sauce in the bowl first and pour the hot milk over from a little height, which agitates it and spreads the acid; mixing them in the pot instead gives an even lumpy mess.
• It should look curdled and slightly broken, with soft clouds through the bowl — that is the whole point rather than a fault. If it stays smooth the milk was too cool or there was not enough acid.
• Use unsweetened soy milk and check the carton, since sweetened milk makes this inedible — it is a savoury dish entirely. Soy milk also boils over very readily and catches on the pan base, so use a large pan, a moderate heat and watch it constantly.

Substitutions

• Dried shrimp goes into every bowl and is small and easy to miss, so say clearly what is in it — shellfish allergy can be severe. The whole dish is also built on soy, with soy sauce adding more, which is obvious but worth stating.
• Some cooks use the dried shrimp entirely dry so it softens in the hot milk rather than soaking it first; both are genuinely done, and toasting it a minute in a dry pan deepens its flavour considerably.

Variations

• Have every bowl fully assembled — vinegar, soy sauce, shrimp, pickles — before the milk is heated, since there is no time once it is hot.
• Zha cai, pickled mustard stem, is a structural part of the bowl rather than a garnish: it gives the sharpness and crunch against the soft curds. Chop it small and even, since large pieces are too salty in one bite, and rinse and squeeze it if very salty.
• Tear the youtiao in at the very last moment so some crispness remains at first — it softens within a minute or two, and that contrast is much of the point. Fresh soy milk curdles better than thin commercial milk, which still works but less dramatically.

History

A Shanghainese breakfast carried over by 1949 migrants; vinegar and soy sauce flocculate the hot soy milk into soft curds at the table.

Frequently asked questions

What is Salty Soy Milk?

Salty Soy Milk is a breakfast from Taiwan: hot soy milk curdled with vinegar over dried shrimp, pickles and fried dough. A Shanghainese breakfast carried over by 1949 migrants; vinegar and soy sauce flocculate the hot soy milk into soft curds at the table.

How long does Salty Soy Milk take to make?

Salty Soy Milk takes 15 minutes of preparation and 10 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Salty Soy Milk?

Yes, within limits. Dried shrimp goes into every bowl and is small and easy to miss, so say clearly what is in it — shellfish allergy can be severe. The whole dish is also built on soy, with soy sauce adding more, which is obvious but worth stating. Some cooks use the dried shrimp entirely dry so it softens in the hot milk rather than soaking it first; both are genuinely done, and toasting it a minute in a dry pan deepens its flavour considerably.

What is the most important thing to get right in Salty Soy Milk?

Rinse it if it is genuinely very salty. Then squeeze it out entirely dry. Chop the spring onion and coriander. Chop them just before serving. Keep them all fresh and green. Set them ready beside the bowls. Put the vinegar in each bowl first. The acid must be in place first.