CHINESE DESERTS & SWEETS

INTRODUCTION.

Chinese desserts (Chinese:  甜點 ; pinyin: tián​diǎn​) are sweet foods and dishes that are

served with tea or at the end of meals in Chinese cuisine. The desserts encompass a wide
variety of ingredients commonly used in East Asian cuisines such as powdered or
whole glutinous rice, sweet bean pastes, and agar. Due to the many Chinese cultures and
the long history of China, there are a great variety of desserts of many forms.

For North American diners, dessert typically represents the chef's triumphant finale, his last chance to perform before a
captive audience.
 
Chinese cuisine is a little different.  Mention the words Chinese food to most people and they tend to think of an assortment
of stir-fried dishes, usually accompanied with rice and the ubiquitous cup of tea. While frozen ice concoctions may have
originated thousands of years ago in China's snow covered peaks, desserts do not feature prominently in Chinese cooking.
 
There are several reasons for this.  First, while westerners traditionally end their evening meal with a fancy dessert, the
Chinese prefer to eat fruit (a much healthier custom). Not that the Chinese don't ever crave sweets. A frequent complaint
from westerners is that the few sweet Chinese desserts that do exist are too sweet. However, they normally prefer to indulge
their sweet tooth between meals, especially when entertaining company or celebrating special occasions such as the moon
festival.
Of course, you can always follow Chinese tradition and conclude your evening meal with a piece of fruit. Cooks with access to an Asian
supermarket will have trouble choosing between an array of luscious tropical fruits - everything from mandarin oranges to mangos and
lychees may be available. Fruit can be served fresh, chilled, or marinated with a liqueur. Many Chinese recipes feature steamed fruit
covered with a honey syrup, and references to steaming pears with honey and wine dates back to ancient times.  Fritters, batter-covered
fruits fried in oil and sprinkled with sugar, are also popular. 

Still, a few Chinese desserts have caught on in the west. One is Peking Dust, a gooey concoction featuring fresh chestnuts and whipped
cream.  According to one source, Peking dust is not truly indigenous to China, having been invented by western residents of Peking in the
1920's.  However, another source states that Peking Wall - a more elaborate version of the same dessert - was traditionally served to foreign
ambassadors near the end of the Ching dynasty, which ended in 1911. 

Another popular dessert is Almond Tea.   In "Chinese Home Cooking", Helen Chen shares her mother's reminiscences of how Chinese
vendors used to sell almond tea from door to door.  In those days it was made by hand grinding raw rice and almonds; fortunately, today
you can use rice flour and almond paste.  Adding agar-agar or unflavored gelatin to Almond Tea gives you Almond Junket.

Another well-known treat - normally reserved for special occasions - is eight precious puddings
(it may also be called eighSecond, chilled desserts have never been overly popular in China,
since until recently most homes lacked a refrigerator.  (Ovens are also rare in Chinese
kitchens, which are why cake recipes often call for the cake to be steamed rather than baked).  
Finally, Chinese restaurants - even those in the west - tend to avoid offering fancy desserts.

This is understandable when you consider that many desserts have a lengthy preparation time
and Chinese dinners normally consist of several fast-cooking, stir-fried dishes.
t treasure pudding or eight precious rice).  This rice pudding is filled with an assortment of
colorful fruits such as maraschino cherries and dates, each representing a "treasure" - a
precious stone such as ruby or jade. One word of caution: some people find both this dessert
and Almond Tea to be overly sweet.

Chinese cooking has gained popularity over the years, however, it is not unusual to come
across claims that Chinese desserts are wanting. Certainly, the Chinese eat more than just fruit
at the end of dinner!
 The most popular Chinese desert:

Sweet Soup
Sweet soups are very popular and easy to make at home. The commonest one is made from
boiling red beans in water with rock or red sugar. One can also find similar soup made with
sweet potatoes or yam.

Another popular soup is made with sheets of dry bean curd boiled in sugared water and eggs.
It can be cooked with lotus seeds, snow fungus and Job's tears as well.

Sweet soup also comes in thicker consistency with smooth velvety texture, made from black
sesame seeds or peanuts.

Sweet Congee
Besides soup, sweet congee is also a typical dessert. Congee is rice boiled with lots of water that often forms parts of a meal. It can be
turned into a dessert by adding sugar, lotus seeds and longans, which come in dry form.

Steamed Cake
There is a variety of Chinese steamed cakes. They can be made with white sugar by itself, with red bean paste stuffing, or made with
eggs.

Steamed Bun
Sweet steamed buns are popular. They are stuffed with sweet red bean paste. There is a special bun for birthday celebration, in the
shape of a Chinese peach brushed lightly with pink on top. It is in a Chinese peach shape because traditionally it is the symbol of long
life.
Steamed Egg and Milk
Steamed egg and "double skin" milk are served in individual bowls. They are very common in restaurants at lunch time, and they are easy to
make at home.

Sweet Tofu
Tofu can be eaten sweet also. Brown sugar or syrup is added, and it can be served hot or cold.

Grass Jelly and Pudding

Grass jelly is black and jelly-like. It is cut into small squares and eaten with a light syrup and brown sugar.
There is a variety of puddings which are termed as "cake" in Chinese. They are made with different flavored juices and concentrates, such as
coconut or almonds. The texture is smooth and similar to that of grass jelly.

Another popular "cake" is made with chunks of water chestnuts blended in the middle, which gives it a distinct flavor. It is fried and eaten
hot.

There is another one which can be translated literally into "big vegetable cake." It is transparent and is decorated with fruit and almond
syrup. Same as grass jelly it is cut into little squares.

Tart
The most popular tart is the egg tart, which is made with a tart base filled with egg custard. It is very common in restaurants at lunch time
also.

Fried Sesame Bun and Sesame Roll

This first one is a deep fried bun made with glutinous rice flour which gives it a chewy texture. It is hollow inside and on the outside lined
with toasted sesame seeds.

Another dessert made from sesame seeds is the sesame roll. The sesame seeds are made into a paste together with chestnut powder. They are
then rolled into cylinder shape with many layers.
 Traditional deserts recipes.
Sweet Black Sesame Soup (Sesame Tong Shui):
This sweet soup is made with black sesame seeds, rumored to help prevent grey hair. Feel free to use
Chinese rock sugar (available at Asian markets) instead of granulated sugar if desired. For an added touch,
the soup can be garnished with crushed nuts, shredded coconut or softened, chopped Chinese dates.

Chinese Sponge Cake Recipe:

The secret of this recipe for Chinese sponge cake lies in the fact it is steamed, which makes it very moist.
Traditionally the sponge cake is eaten plain, but you can also serve it with strawberries or other fresh fruit
for a light dessert.

Sweet bun:
Baozi, also known as bao or bau, is a type of steamed bun filled with a variety of fillings. Although having origins in
China, it has embedded itself as a mainstay in several Asian cuisines and adopted fillings that fit according to local
tastes and availability of ingredients. Steamed buns can be sweet or savory, and can be eaten at all times of the day.

Double-skin milk:
Double-skin milk is a traditional custard like Cantonese dessert from Guangdong Province with a history of over a
century. It is easy to make, so give it a try at home! The resulting double skinned milk is pure white and set to a
wobbly consistency, very smooth and mildly sweet. On cooling, a second layer of tasty skin is formed, sticking to the
edge of the bowl.
Sweet tofu:
sweet tofu is often served at Asian dim sum or as a hot breakfast dish. Soft tofu is simmered in a broth of water,
fresh ginger, and simple syrup (a neutral-flavored syrup that can be prepared with equal parts vegan sugar and
water or corn syrup and water that is cooked on the stove until it has a syrupy texture) then served as several
pieces of creamy smooth tofu with a sweet, hot sauce. Done in this way, flavored tofu can be served warm as a
breakfast “pudding” or used as a base for a breakfast sundae layered with warm fruit, maple syrup, and
chopped nuts. Chill it and use as a base for tofu “cheesecake” or cream pie.

Grass jelly:
Grass jelly is made by boiling the aged and slightly oxidized stalks and leaves of Mesona
chinensis (member of the mint family) with potassium carbonate for several hours with a little starch and
then cooling the liquid to a jelly-like consistency [. This jelly can be cut into cubes or other forms, and then
mixed with syrup to produce a drink or dessert thought to have cooling (yin) properties, which makes it
typically consumed during hot weather. The jelly itself has a slight bitter taste, a
light iodine lavender flavor, and is a translucent black. It can also be mixed with soy milk to produce a
milky white liquid with black strands in it.

Egg tart:
Today, egg tarts come in many variations within Hong Kong cuisine, including egg white, milk , honey-egg,
ginger- flavoured egg, which are variations of a traditional milk custard and egg custard served in cha
chaan tengs), and also chocolate tarts, green-tea- flavoured tarts, and even bird's nest tarts.
Overall, Hong Kong egg tarts have two main types of crusts: shortcrust pastry and puff pastry,
traditionally made with lard rather than butter or shortening. Most Hong Kong Chinese food purists hold
the egg tarts made with puff pastry in higher regard.
Unlike English custard tarts, milk is normally not added to the egg custard, and the tart is not sprinkled
with ground nutmeg or cinnamon before serving. It is also served piping hot rather than at room
temperature like English custard tarts.
Black sesame roll:
Black sesame roll is a refrigerated dim sum dessert found in Hong Kong and some overseas Chinatowns.
It is sweet and the texture is smooth and soft.
The dessert begins with a thin layer of black sesame paste waiting to dry. The paste eventually forms a
thin sheet, and is refrigerated. The sheets are then individually rolled up into a sesame roll.

Candies:
Known as tang in Chinese, this is a wide category that includes hard sweets of all kinds. Tanghulu, a
type of fruit with a sugar-coated glaze often sold on the street falls into this category. Chinese cotton
candy or yinsitang is said to have been invented 2000 years ago and is a stringy sugar solution that is
folded many times into a thick bundle. Other more conventional Chinese-style candies can be bought
in shops and supermarkets.

Ice Cream:
Regular ice cream can be bought throughout China but a special type of cold dessert is especially
delicious. Baobing is a pile of shaved ice with sweet syrup. It’s often served with fresh fruits like
strawberries and sometimes condensed milk. Originally from Taiwan, baobing has spread to many places
in the mainland as well.

Chinese Pudding :
Since pudding is quite a tasty dessert, there are many types of pudding that the Chinese make.
These include: Mango pudding Coconut pudding Eight precious pudding Rice pudding And
more
Rice puddings are found in nearly every area of the world. Recipes can greatly vary even within a
single country. The dessert can be boiled or baked [1]. Different types of pudding vary depending
on preparation methods and the ingredients selected
 Desserts Chinese desserts are sweet foods and
dishes that are served with tea or at the end of
meals. The desserts in China can be roughly
divided into several types: Bing Candies Gao
Jellies Soups.

Desserts are not a must in the traditional Chinese cuisine, mainly because sweet elements or fruits are introduced in the main courses.
The fruit dishes are called basi (banana or apple topped with sugar syrup). Fruits are also consumed as stuffed, like the stuffed
watermelon, as salads or as fillings in droughts or pancakes. Some desserts are fried or incorporated, like the red bean paste, locally
called doushua, which also exists in other significant Asian cuisines. The doushabao contains dousha and it is eaten as breakfast, but
dousha can also be a filling for many meals. Puddings are best represented by babao fan, which is made with rice. The traditional
fortune cookie is made with flour, cardamom, brown sugar, salt, eggs and anason. Other sweets include almond cookies, fruit
droughts, almond cream with chow chow (with unflavoured gelatine, milk and almond essence), or almond lake with mandarin
oranges.

Traditional Chinese cuisine does not have typical desserts. Chinese meals do not end as in Western cuisine and cultures, with a dessert.
Still, sweet foods are often consumed in between meals. A type of sweet soup made with sugar and red beans is one of the most popular
desserts in the American Chinese cuisine. Also the Fortune cookie is considered being a dessert.
The myth of Chinese deserts
It is unfortunate that although Chinese restaurants are all over the world, many familiar traditional dishes are very often absent
from the menu. A rich food culture has become associated in many places with cheap and take away food, swimming in heavy sauces
and artificial taste enhancers.

For some reasons, traditional Chinese desserts more often than not do not feature in the menu. However, if one visits a noisy local
restaurant in South China, for example, one will find that desserts are very much part of a meal and are not restricted to special
occasion like a banquet or traditional festivals. Since Chinese desserts eaten during these special occasions have gained fame already,
this report will mention some common and less well known sweet dishes that native Chinese enjoy.
 Summary
Desserts Chinese desserts are sweet foods and dishes that are served with tea or at the end of meals. The desserts in China can be
roughly divided into several types: Bing Candies Gao Jellies Soups.

Desserts Bing- baked wheat flour based confections, and are similar to the short-pastry crust of western cuisine or flaky like puff
pastry. One of the more commonly known bing is the moon cake. Candies- Chinese candies and sweets, called tang, are usually made
with cane sugar, malt sugar, and honey. These often consist of nuts or fruits mixed into syrup or pastes to flavor or give the candies
texture. Tanghulu, dragon's beard candy, and White Rabbit Creamy Candy are examples. Gao- Gao are rice base snacks that are
typically steamed and may be made from glutinous or normal rice. These rice based snacks have a wide variety of textures and can
be chewy, jelly-like, fluffy or rather firm. One of the more commonly known gao is the niangao. Jellies- Many jelly desserts are
traditionally set with agar and are flavored with fruits, though gelatin based jellies are also common in contemporary desserts. Some
Chinese jellies, such as the grass jelly and the aiyu jelly set by themselves.

Traditional Chinese cuisine does not have typical desserts. Chinese meals do not end as in Western cuisine and cultures, with a dessert.
Still, sweet foods are often consumed in between meals. A type of sweet soup made with sugar and red beans is one of the most popular
desserts in the American Chinese cuisine. Also the Fortune cookie is considered being a dessert.