Please help identify mystery Asian candy

[Fat Guy]

I love these but have no idea what they are or how to describe them. Can anybody help identify this mysterious Asian candy?

[Darienne]

The best I can do is to ask at my Asian market. No doubt you have already gone that route.

However, I hope you don't mind if I add a second 'mystery Asian candy' to the question. I asked it long ago on an Asian favorite candy topic but received no useful answers.

This candy is white, small cylinder to squarish, chewy, tastes of toasted sesame oil, wrapped in waxed paper, looked like White Rabbit Milk Candy, but was not, purchased by a Chinese friend in a big red Chinese New Year multi-varied box 2 years ago. Intrigued me no end...in fact, I ate them all. The combination of toasted sesame oil and sweet was so different. I should add: they were NOT crunchy, there were NO sesame seeds, they were NOT thin like wafers, the sesame oil WAS the familiar toasted kind you use in dishes such as Hot & Sour soup, Hot & Sour cabbage.

Thanks.

Edited March 29, 2010 by Darienne (log)

[docdix]

That's a Guava candy.

you can find it here.

http://www.piermall.com/Guava-Hard-Candy-p/c-guava-candy.htm

enjoy but remember to brush after!

[jenc]

Looks like Guava - 番石榴

Can't read Chinese though. That's just guess-n-google.

[docdix]

The best I can do is to ask at my Asian market. No doubt you have already gone that route.

However, I hope you don't mind if I add a second 'mystery Asian candy' to the question. I asked it long ago on an Asian favorite candy topic but received no useful answers.

This candy is white, small cylinder to squarish, chewy, tastes of toasted sesame oil, wrapped in waxed paper, looked like White Rabbit Milk Candy, but was not, purchased by a Chinese friend in a big red Chinese New Year multi-varied box 2 years ago. Intrigued me no end...in fact, I ate them all. The combination of toasted sesame oil and sweet was so different. I should add: they were NOT crunchy, there were NO sesame seeds, they were NOT thin like wafers, the sesame oil WAS the familiar toasted kind you use in dishes such as Hot & Sour soup, Hot & Sour cabbage.

Thanks.

Hi,

Hate to be a wet blanket to your enjoyment of that candy but is this the candy you were referring to?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-24-melamine-china_N.htm

I am not sure if this is just protectionist marketing or i it is really true but we all have to be careful.

[Darienne]

Thanks DocDix, but I did say that the candy 'looked' like White Rabbit Candy, but was in a large red plastic tray. I don't think White Rabbit makes these fancy red tray assortments popular at New Year. I have purchased White Rabbit candy and made it also and this was NOT White Rabbit candy unless they now make a 'toasted sesame oil' flavor.

The following is the list of current White Rabbit flavors from the official website:

"In addition to the original vanilla flavour, new flavours such as chocolate, coffee, toffee, peanut, corn, coconut, lychee, strawberry, mango, red bean, and fruit have been added. The butter-plum flavour, characteristic of China, was also among the new flavours added through the years."

None of these flavors would taste like toasted sesame oil as far as I can see.

I also believe that currently there is no recall of White Rabbit Candy for melamine...but I don't know for certain. I wanted to taste it and so I did. And then made a batch using a recipe from Anita Chu (Pastrygirl on eG) book, Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable.

So I am still mystified.

[docdix]

Sorry, my bad. I had taken the article to mean that they also found similar candies tainted with melamine. Anyway wow you actually copied the candy... you must like it a lot! I travel often to Singapore and if I find some I will make inquiries and let you know what i find... that's if I will be able to understand them.

[Darienne]

Sorry, my bad. I had taken the article to mean that they also found similar candies tainted with melamine. Anyway wow you actually copied the candy... you must like it a lot! I travel often to Singapore and if I find some I will make inquiries and let you know what i find... that's if I will be able to understand them.

No problem. And you are correct. They just keep on finding melamine, and no doubt other contaminants, in one food item after another.

As for liking the White Rabbit candy...I had never even tasted it. I had just bought the Anita Chu candy book and learned of it in one of her recipes. I bought some to taste at our local Asian market and then decided to make it, just for the sake of making it. Milk is not a common ingredient in candy. Gave both the commercial and homemade stuff away...as I give away most of what I make.

Not generous. Just devious.

- keeps me from getting fat

- makes me friends

- allows me to experiment and make all sorts of stuff. To me, candy making is almost magic. But then so is bread making and a number of other things.

- ingratiates me with our local libraries who sell my stuff for small change. Last week they didn't charge me for my over-dues.

- no doubt a number of other things too which won't come to my currently tired mind.

However, if you ever do find my mystery candy...please let me know.

Thanks.

[LilianNY]

that is definitely guava candy. my in laws have it in their house and i think they buy it in china.