Chinese Dessert Recipes

Tokyo Joe's

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Takoyaki at Tokyo Joe's

Takoyaki at Tokyo Joe's Ramen Okawari

by Like_the_Grand_Canyon

Article by Robert

Chinese Desserts are not served in the same way as they are served in the Western cuisines as a separate dish after the meal. Chinese desserts are sweet dishes which are generally served with tea, served as a snack or eaten along with meals in the Chinese cuisine. Chinese people don't indulge in desserts everyday at the end of a meal. They generally include a fresh or tinned fruit in their meal, reserving proper desserts for feast and parties.

Owing to the long history of China and presence of numerous cultures, a wide variety of Chinese Desserts can be found in the Chinese Cuisine. A lot of ingredients belonging to the East Asian cuisine such as sweet bean pastes and glutinous rice are used in making Chinese Desserts. A popular Chinese Dessert is "tang" which are candies or sweets made with malt sugar, honey and cane sugar. These candies also contain nuts and fruits. Names of some Chinese candies are white rabbit creamy candy, tanghulu and dragon's beard candy. Another popular Chinese Dessert is rice cake which is referred to as "guo" or "gao" in Chinese. In Fukien speaking areas in China, rice cakes are called Kuei. Names of some popular gao's or guo's include tangyuan, bai tang gao and nian gao. Nian, also known as sticky cake is served at Chinese New Year celebrations.

Rice cakes are sweet rice balls which are chewy and soft. Jellies are also eaten as Chinese Desserts and are called "ices" in Chinese. These jellies are gelatin based and are flavored with fruits. Grass jelly is a popular Chinese jelly which sets by itself. Another popular Chinese Dessert is "tongsui" or "tiantang", as called in Cantonese, which are basically hot soups with a sweet flavor. Chinese soups are also known for their restorative and preventive properties. Another type of Chinese Desserts is baked confections which are prepared from wheat flour and are referred to as "bing" in Chinese. Lard is used as the preferred fat in bing recipes. Names of some popular bings include sun cake, red bean paste bean ca! ke and s un cake. Some Chinese Desserts which have picked up in the West include almond tea, eight precious pudding and peking dust. Even though Chinese cuisine is popular across world cuisines for its spicy stir fried food preparations rather than its desserts, Chinese Desserts still hold an important place in Chinese meals during festivals and parties.

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HK39 - Chinese dessert 糖水

So-Han and Ran Hur get Chinese sweet soup! Chinese cuisine in general isn't big on dessert, but the Cantonese do have a tradition of 糖水tong sui "sugar water" which is a sweet soup or custard, usually served warm, that generally follows a full meal. This place, located on Percival st. in Causeway Bay, specializes in 糖水and is always a-bumpin'. We couldn't find a seat and had to get ours to go. The menu is pretty extensive and features cold turtle-shell jelly, red adzuki bean soup, green mung bean soup with seaweed (yes it's sweet), various steamed custards, ginger-juice milk pudding, walnut paste, sesame paste, and cashew paste with sweet steamed milk, various herbal soups with lotus seeds and Chinese dates, "ja ja" which has barley and a bunch of other stuff, a sweet soybean custard known as "tofu flowers" 豆腐花, sweet potato soup with rice balls (mochi), coconut milk soup with taro and sago (tapioca), cold soup with papaya and ginko nuts, and a variety of others. We got hot black sesame soup with mochi, and my own personal favorite, mango-pomelo soup with sago (pomelo is a giant Chinese grapefruit). I wish I knew what this place was called but they don't have their name in English and I can't figure out how to pronounce the characters. Sorry team, that one's on coach So-Han.

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The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts

When it comes to Asian desserts, most Americans think of fortune cookies. But, in fact, the Far East is home to a dazzling array of sweets rich with tropical fruits, crunchy nuts, aromatic spices, and, yes, even chocolate.

In The Sweet Spot, renowned pastry chef Pichet Ong presents a collection of one hundred recipes for cakes, cookies, pies, tarts, puddings, ice creams, candies, and more. There are traditional Asian desserts with innovative twists, such as Sesame Balls, Mango Sticky Rice, and Almond Tofu, and classic American favorites, like Spiced Coconut Brownies, Banana Cream Pie, and Cream Puffs, livened up with Asian ingredients and cooking techniques.

Eschewing the heavy use of butter and sugar, Ong instead highlights the vibrant flavors of Asia—jasmine, lychee, orange blossom water, passion fruit, yuzu, mangosteen, and sesame, to name just a few. And despite the complexity of flavors and textures, all of the recipes are easy enough to make in home kitchens, requiring minimal effort for maximum results. Dazzle dinner-party guests with elegant showstoppers—Thai Tea White Chocolate Tart, Coconut Cream Pie with Toasted Jasmine Rice Crust—or delight the family with simple weeknight treats—Pomegranate Sherbet, Ginger Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

The Sweet Spot includes lush color photographs of almost all of the finished dishes, and a foreword from legendary restaurateur and chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Savory Asian cuisine has been popular in America for years. Now it's time to embrace the enticing range of exotic desserts.

List Price: $ 29.95 Price: $ 16.02