When American B-girl Sunny Choi isn’t killing it on the dance floor, you’ll likely find her experimenting in the kitchen. In a recent conversation I had with Choi, she unveiled that aside from breaking, she has a deep passion for food. “I absolutely love to cook. For me, it’s being able to get creative and turn off my brain for a little bit, especially after a long day,” Choi says.
This year, Choi is set to compete in the Paris 2024 Summer Games, marking breaking’s official Olympics debut. In anticipation of the event (competition is scheduled for August 9-10), Choi has partnered with Incredible Egg for their “Meant to Be Broken” campaign, to dive deeper into one of her all-time favorite ingredients to nosh on when training for competition: eggs.
But like many of us, Choi loves a good dessert, which is why she can’t get enough of her latest egg-based concoction, “Custard Freeze, Sunny Style,” a homemade, lactose-free ice cream.
Ahead, Choi shares the recipe for her five-ingredient custard-based ice cream, plus a few other egg-filled dishes she makes regularly to get her pumped up to hit the dance floor.
Cooking as another form of self-expression
Choi isn’t shy about breaking (pun intended) boundaries, especially when performing on the dance floor. However, she’s found a similar passion for trying new things when cooking up a storm in the kitchen. In fact, it’s one of her favorite places to let her imagination run free. “I like to cook; I like to bake, and just kind of make things [with] whatever’s lying around my kitchen,” she says.
Over the last few years, Choi has poured a lot of her time into experimenting with new ingredients and recipes, in part due to her own personal struggles with lactose intolerance. “I have not the greatest stomach. I’m lactose intolerant, so I actually just generally can’t have dairy,” she says, which has made her even more savvy in the kitchen.
2 savory egg dishes Choi loves to make
Sesame oil fried eggs
Coincidentally, two of her all-time favorite savory recipes feature eggs: a simple sesame oil fried egg and a spicy take on shakshuka.
“[A sesame oil fried egg] is super simple, but it reminds me of home, which is why I like it,” Choi says. To make it, she fries eggs in sesame oil—instead of olive oil or any other oil—and garnishes it with a pinch of salt. “It just gives it a subtle sesame flavor. It’s the simplest thing in the world [with] tons of protein,” Choi says.
Spicy “shakshuka”
On the other hand, she also enjoys making a shakshuka-style breakfast from time to time. However, instead of the traditional Mediterranean spices—cumin, paprika, and cayenne—she adds her own creative twist by infusing the dish with chipotle peppers and green chiles for a more Latin-inspired rendition. “I throw some eggs in it, bake it, and then eat it with some tortillas,” Choi says.
The inspiration behind the “Custard Freeze”
When looking for something sweet, Choi’s iconic “custard freeze” recipe is something she makes on repeat, and it’s easy to understand why. Aside from how delicious it is, Choi says it’s lactose-free ice cream, naturally sweetened, and has a rich, creamy consistency. Swoon.
“When I was out looking for some sort of frozen treat, years ago, I couldn’t find anything that worked for me. So, I took bits and pieces from other places, threw it all together, and tested a bunch of different variations,” Choi says.
Choi’s custard freeze recipe features just a handful of ingredients: coconut cream, egg yolks, honey, vanilla, and almond extract. The best part? You don’t need a fancy ice cream maker to make it; a food processor or blender will help achieve soft serve ice cream consistency just as well.
After tons of testing, Choi finally perfected her recipe. “It stays scoopable, has a pretty high fat content, and so when you put it in the food processor and in the freezer, you don’t have to wait for it to thaw,” she says.
For those who haven’t made homemade ice cream before, this is a game-changer. “I’m impatient when I’m trying to get dessert and I don’t want to wait for my ice cream to get soft. So I can sneak a scoop and then go to practice,” she says.
Dare to be adventurous? Choi recommends trying it “Sunny’s style” by infusing the custard with matcha for an extra boost of energy (and flavor).
As Choi gears up to win gold this summer, she says she can’t wait to compete, meet new people, and take in the energy of the event. “But I think more than anything, [I’m most excited that] my family’s going to be there. We don’t often get together with everybody,” she says. Plus, just like her, they love food. “One of my nieces is planning out an entire ‘food day,’” Choi says. “It’s really about my family being there—I think is what I’m looking forward to [the most]—even more than the competition,” she adds.
Custard Freeze, Sunny Style Recipe
Yields 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut cream
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
- Heat coconut cream in a pot over medium heat to 170°F.
- Temper the egg yolks and then add egg yolk mixture back into the hot coconut cream. (To temper egg yolks, drizzle a portion of the hot coconut cream into the egg yolks while whisking. This prevents the egg yolks from cooking and turning into scrambled eggs once added into the hot coconut cream.)
- Continue to whisk mixture over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes until mixture thickens slightly. Mixture should be around 170°F. For food safety, always ensure eggs are cooked to 160°F and/or use pasteurized eggs.
- Remove pot from heat and place in an ice bath. Stir the mixture to cool. If using regular honey, you can add honey and flavorings at this time. If using raw honey, cool the mixture to 105°F before adding in the honey.
- Cool and then freeze mixture.
- Once frozen, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature.
- Add mixture to food processor or blender and process until mixture reaches the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
- Serve immediately or transfer to a container and freeze for later. Enjoy!
Pro tips: For matcha frozen custard, remove the almond extract and add 1 1/2 tablespoon matcha powder after removing mixture from heat. For chocolate frozen custard, remove the almond extract, mix in 1/4 cup cocoa into the coconut cream in the beginning and then once you remove the mixture from the heat, add in 0.5 ounces dark chocolate and mix until chocolate has melted. For coffee frozen custard, remove the almond extract and add 2 teaspoons of instant coffee into the mixture while it’s hot.