The year of the rat is just around the corner and I bet, preparations at your house must be almost done by now. But is that true? Have you thought of making a delicious, simple and most importantly, healthy dessert that your family will absolutely love? Well, now it’s the time for you to think about it.
After the usual hearty fare of fish, pork and beef, nothing makes the moment sweeter then enjoying a bowl of sweet snow fungus and pears soup together while ushering in all the wealth, prosperity and happiness during the coming of the Lunar New Year.
The Perfect Dessert for a Chill Lunar New Year
This is a refreshingly light dessert served at the end of a heavy meal. The White Fungus has many health benefits as it helps to cure cough and it has anti-inflammatory as well. The nutrients from the snow fungus are said to be equivalent to that of the expensive bird’s nest that has the similar anti-aging properties which helps in reducing collagen losses.
Also, a little trivia, this dessert soup is also known as the poor man’s bird’s nest because snow fungus is so much cheaper yet nutritious. Quite a good alternative, right?
Ingredients:
- 3 nashi or any chinese pears, removed skin (optional)
- 40g white fungus, washed & soaked for 20 minutes
- 20 dried longans
- 15 seeds of ginko
- 2 tablespoons of goji berries
- 10 red dates, seeded and cut into half
- 1500ml water
- 80g rock honey sugar or rock sugar
Method:
- Soak the snow fungus in water till it becomes soft for about 20 minutes.
- Cut up the snow fungus into small pieces.
- Rinse pears, cored and cut into wedges.
- Place snow fungus, pears, dried longans, gingko and red dates into a pot of water and bring them to boil. Then simmer on a smaller flame for 30 minutes.
- Add in the rock sugar to taste and stir through until sugar is dissolved.
- The dried longan will sweeten the soup so be careful on the amount of rock sugar you put in.
- This recipe is made via direct heat boiling but it is better to double boil by using a double boiler. If you don’t have one, just place the ingredients in a ceramic bowl, cover it with a plate and place it inn water-filled cast iron pot.
- Serve warm or cold by chilling it in the fridge.
Eat it Hot or Cold
I bet you can’t believe how easy it is to prepare this simple dessert soup. The best part is, you don’t have to prepare the whole thing from scratch again. Just keep it simmering or chill to enjoy it at any time you want!
Anyways, I hope the year of the Rat will the year for you and family. Gong Xi Fa Cai from me.
For any inquiries or even a little chat about delicious Nyonya and Chinese desserts, just slide into my Instagram DM at @justinescakesandkueh. Don’t forget to follow me and Butterkicap for more feel-good recipes and comforting heritage food that you can try and make on your own!