Chinese Dessert

[Tere]

Yes, exactly that! It was a lovely old lady who was selling her wares just outside the summer palace at Chengde. 

 

Right, now I really have to buy that tree  It was in 1995 so it was almost certainly Chinese hawthorn. Thanks so much!

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, Lisa Shock said:

How common is ginger milk custard?

 @Lisa Shock

Have you tried to make this? Really appeals to me and I might have to give it a try!   Thanks for the link.

2 hours ago, Lisa Shock said:

How common is ginger milk custard?

 

[liuzhou]

16 hours ago, Tere said:

Not a dessert as such, but I had a delicious street food in Chengde many years ago. The lady (with help from the guide) described them as "Hawthorn berries" but I think they were probably goji berries

 

They are not goji berries, but as your guide said Chinese hawthorn berries. 糖葫芦 (táng hú lu). They are available all over China, usually from itinerant street vendors, but sometimes small shops or kiosks.

 

es

Edited March 3, 2016 by liuzhou
typo (log)

[liuzhou]

@Tere Sorry, I just noticed that @Kerry Beal had already clarified that.

[Tere]

Heh. No problems. At the time I just assumed translation fail as I had no idea there was a hawthorn with such big fruits. Definitely one to try in the fruit garden I think

[Lisa Shock]

9 hours ago, Anna N said:

 @Lisa Shock

Have you tried to make this? Really appeals to me and I might have to give it a try!   Thanks for the link.

 

I have been too lazy to try it, which is silly, I know. I have been meaning to test it out with various sweeteners and other flavor components to see how far it can be pushed. I think I keep forgetting to get a nice fresh chunk of ginger, I've been using ginger I put up in some vinegar for general cooking. At some point, lets start a new thread about this dessert, because I see a lot of potential for it. (low cal -compared to other custards, good for people with egg allergies, easy to make, no oven needed, etc.)

[liuzhou]

Today, after lunch, a friend and I went to one of the many dessert only places in town. She slightly over-ordered. This lot turned up for the two of us.

 

 

The small dessert restaurant is part of a Hong Kong franchise operation and offers HK style desserts. All the above are mango based.

 

Clockwise from top left.

 

Vanilla ice cream with chopped mango covered with powdered cocoa and a sprig of mint. Served in a flower pot, of course.

Mango in a light mousse.

Mango cream puffs

Ice cream with mango and melon balls.

 

I ate the flowerpot and half the mousse then gave up. My companion demolished the rest, then polished off a mango cake she had purchased elsewhere. She is tiny. Where does she put it all?

Edited March 13, 2016 by liuzhou
typo (log)

[Kerry Beal]

On March 1, 2016 at 4:20 PM, Lisa Shock said:

How common is ginger milk custard?

So got around to making this today - picked up the ginger a couple of weeks back - kept looking at it every time I walked past - today was the day!

 

Followed the Khymos method - cutting back to a few grams of ginger juice in each of two cups - heating the milk with a bit of sugar to 65º C in the microwave - pouring from a bit of a height to mix.

 

Finished production just before heading out to work - so popped them in the fridge uncertain if they would turn out. Pretty perfect!

 

 

 

[Lisa Shock]

Looks great!

Thanks for the link, I think I had balked at doing this because I found several really different recipes and wondered about why they were so different.

[liuzhou]

On 02/03/2016 at 5:20 AM, Lisa Shock said:

How common is ginger milk custard?

 

It isn't something I've ever encountered, but it seems to be a Hong Kong /Guangdong Cantonese speciality. I'm heading to Guangzhou (Canton) for a few days next month, so I'll keep a look out for it.

[Mjx]

Recently, I had these in Chinatown (NYC):

 

 

 

 

 

I was curious, and wanted to know something about them, but it was busy and loud, and the lady behind the counter didn't speak much English, so I left none the wiser: anybody know something about these? They were quite delicious!

 

 

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, Mjx said:

Recently, I had these in Chinatown (NYC):

 

 

 

 

 

I was curious, and wanted to know something about them, but it was busy and loud, and the lady behind the counter didn't speak much English, so I left none the wiser: anybody know something about these? They were quite delicious!

 

 

While in NYC, if possible, stop by Lady Wong on E9th between 1st and 2nd Ave... great SE Asian desserts.  We get some of their kuih every week.  They actually just won Best Bakery by NYC Eater yesterday....

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, Mjx said:

Recently, I had these in Chinatown (NYC):

 

 

 

 

 

I was curious, and wanted to know something about them, but it was busy and loud, and the lady behind the counter didn't speak much English, so I left none the wiser: anybody know something about these? They were quite delicious!

 

 

 

I'm going to take it that your third picture is of the cake also in your first. I do hope so, otherwise what I am about to say will be gibberish.

 

I wouldn't translate the  name 蜂巢糕 (fēng cháo gāo) as Bee Nest Cake. Its more common meaning would be Honeycomb Cake* which also seems to fit image No. 3 more. I'm hoping it was honey flavoured.

 

* It also translates as 'bee hive' but that seems less apt.

 

The cake resembles the steamed sponge cake we get around here and mentioned here.

 

Your second cake,  杞子桂花糕 (qǐ zǐ guì huā gāo), the goji berry and osmanthus cake, I haven't encountered although the two ingredients are a very common pairing. Osmanthius is huge here. The abbreviation for Guangxi is 桂 (guì) which is the Chinese character meaning 'osmanthus'. The name of the nearby tourist city of Guilin (桂林 - guì lín) literally means 'osmanthus forest'.

That said, osmanthus is also very popular as a flavouring in Guangdong and Hong Kong, as is the steamed cake genre, so I'd bet on these being Cantonese  / Hong Kong in origin.

[KennethT]

31 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

That said, osmanthus is also very popular as a flavouring in Guangdong and Hong Kong, as is the steamed cake genre, so I'd bet on these being Cantonese  / Hong Kong in origin.

Also, most NYC Chinatown spots are of Hong Kong origin.  Up until maybe 15 years ago, that would be the ONLY thing around here, but there's been more presence of mainland Chinese people lately.

[heidih]

@Mjx the look of the honeycombe one immediately brought to mind Ethiopian injera in texture. Did it taste soaked in a syrup or just flavored within the batter? Looks inviting.

Edited December 2, 2022 by heidih (log)

[liuzhou]

38 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Also, most NYC Chinatown spots are of Hong Kong origin.  Up until maybe 15 years ago, that would be the ONLY thing around here, but there's been more presence of mainland Chinese people lately.

 

It's the same in London. Suddenly Cantonese is the minority Chinese language there (as it is in China even more so.)

Edited December 2, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Mjx]

13 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

I'm going to take it that your third picture is of the cake also in your first. I do hope so, otherwise what I am about to say will be gibberish.

 

I wouldn't translate the  name 蜂巢糕 (fēng cháo gāo) as Bee Nest Cake. Its more common meaning would be Honeycomb Cake* which also seems to fit image No. 3 more. I'm hoping it was honey flavoured.

 

* It also translates as 'bee hive' but that seems less apt.

 

The cake resembles the steamed sponge cake we get around here and mentioned here.

 

Your second cake,  杞子桂花糕 (qǐ zǐ guì huā gāo), the goji berry and osmanthus cake, I haven't encountered although the two ingredients are a very common pairing. Osmanthius is huge here. The abbreviation for Guangxi is 桂 (guì) which is the Chinese character meaning 'osmanthus'. The name of the nearby tourist city of Guilin (桂林 - guì lín) literally means 'osmanthus forest'.

That said, osmanthus is also very popular as a flavouring in Guangdong and Hong Kong, as is the steamed cake genre, so I'd bet on these being Cantonese  / Hong Kong in origin.

 

Thanks, @liuzhou, and yes, the first and third pictures are of the same cake. I suspected that 'honeycomb' was what was intended by 'bee nest', and it was honey flavoured; steaming would explain the texture, which was very springy. Wish I'd got more.

I've had osmathus-flavoured sweets before (Thai, I think), but they were osmanthus only, and very slightly disappointing, because the osmanthus perfumed the sweet, but didn't bring any bitterness or other complexity, so it was  a bit cloying. The goji berry/osmanthus jelly was interesting, because the berries had no textural presence at all: I could see and taste them, or at least their very welcome acidity, but texturally they'd completely merged into the gel.

 

12 hours ago, heidih said:

@Mjx the look of the honeycombe one immediately brought to mind Ethiopian injera in texture. Did it taste soaked in a syrup or just flavored within the batter? Looks inviting.

 

@heidi, the texture was a tiny bit like injera, but more resilient: I kind of hate to use the expression 'tensile strength', because it may suggest inedibility (and this was great!), but I'd describe this as having more tensile strength than injera (which I actually had a few days after this), a bit more chew, though it wasn't really chewy.

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, Mjx said:

I've had osmathus-flavoured sweets before (Thai, I think), but they were osmanthus only, and very slightly disappointing, because the osmanthus perfumed the sweet, but didn't bring any bitterness or other complexity, so it was  a bit cloying.

 

Osmanthus Flowers

 

The only osmanthus sweets I've had are these popular, bite-sized examples from Guilin. Over-sweet for me.

 

 

I've always considered osmanthus to be more of a scent than a flavour. The local parks are full of osmanthus trees and people  sell the flowers on the streets as a sort of modern nosegay. However, it is put into all sorts of things; beer, tea (as like in jasmine tea), wine, baijiu strong spirit, cigarettes (?), jam, honey, ice cream and several cake-like items.

I think goji berries are the biggest con ever. Superfood? Give me a break! 

Edited December 3, 2022 by liuzhou (log)

[Mjx]

20 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

. . .

I think goji berries are the biggest con ever. Superfood? Give me a break! 

 

I have to admit that when I saw the jelly sweet, I thought it was very pretty, and the inclusion of osmanthus intrigued me...but I'd forgotten about goji berries being a so-called superfood.

[liuzhou]

3 hours ago, Mjx said:

I'd forgotten about goji berries being a so-called superfood.

 

The only part I ever eat are the leaves; they make a good dish stir-fried greens. Probably more healthy than the berrries.

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

On 12/3/2022 at 6:39 AM, liuzhou said:

I think goji berries are the biggest con ever. Superfood? Give me a break! 

Saw a patient once (had some mental health issues as I recall) - was eating bulk goji berries by the handful for their superpowers. Worst case of apthous ulcers I've ever seen.