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Chicken Custard

A steamed custard made from shredded chicken, egg, stock or milk, seasoned with pepper and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Chicken and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,389 recipes. Both carry 1-hexanal, which smells fruit. The science ↓

Chicken Custard

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the chicken

  1. Finely shred the raw chicken or pass it through a mincing machine.

  2. Pound the chicken in a mortar until smooth, gradually adding the stock or milk.

  3. Press the mixture through a fine sieve.

Make the custard

  1. Beat the egg well and stir it into the chicken puree.

  2. Add pepper and salt to taste.

  3. Pour the mixture into well-greased ramekin cases, cover with greased paper.

Steam and serve

  1. Steam very gently until firm, about 40 minutes.

  2. If desired, serve with a good white sauce.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Chicken + milktop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,389 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-hexanal (fruit).

  2. Chicken + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,958 recipes

    Shared aroma: piperonal (bitter, coconut).

  3. Egg + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together26,984 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Chicken + eggtop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,991 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Raw chicken
Provides the protein that sets into a firm, smooth custard when gently heated.
Egg
Binds the chicken purée and helps it set firm when steamed.
Stock or milk
Adds moisture and loosens the purée so it becomes smooth and tender.

The step that matters

Steam very gently until firm. High heat or boiling makes the egg proteins and chicken tighten quickly, producing a rough, rubbery or curdled texture instead of a smooth custard. Gentle steaming sets the mixture evenly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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