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Hong Kong

Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, is a global city of neon-lit skyscrapers, Victoria Harbour, and a fusion of East and West, from dim sum to British colonial relics like the Peak Tram. A financial and trade titan, it thrives on low taxes and high density, though recent political tensions with Beijing challenge its autonomy. Its Cantonese culture—kung fu films, street food—pulses amid a concrete jungle.

Featured Dishes from Hong Kong

Avocado toast

Avocado toast

Avocado toast is an open sandwich consisting of toasted bread topped with mashed avocado, plus any of a variety of spices and flavorful ingredients; the most popular include salt and black pepper, lemon juice or other citrus flavors, olive oil, hummus, vinegar, red pepper, feta, duqqa and tomato. Avocado toast became a food trend in the 2010s; however, the preparation has appeared on café menus since at least the 1990s. There have been several debates about where the dish first appeared on menus. Following avocado toast's elevation to trend status, the act of ordering avocado toast at a café was criticized as a symbol of frivolous spending, along with the environmental impact of shipping the fruit from subtropical growing regions.

Bibingka

Bibingka

Bibingka is a type of baked rice cake in Filipino cuisine that is cooked in a terracotta oven lined with banana leaves and is usually eaten for breakfast or as merienda (mid-afternoon snack), especially during the Christmas season. It is also known as bingka in the Visayas and Mindanao islands. Bibingka can also be various other Filipino baked rice cakes, for example, those made with cassava flour (bibingkang cassava / bibingkang kamoteng kahoy), glutinous rice (bibingkang malagkit), or plain flour.

Chia pudding

Chia pudding

Chia seeds are the edible seeds of Salvia hispanica, a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae) native to central and southern Mexico, or of the related Salvia columbariae, Salvia polystachia, or Salvia tiliifolia. Chia seeds are oval and gray with black and white spots, having a diameter of around 2 millimetres (0.08 in). The seeds are hygroscopic, absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked and developing a mucilaginous coating that gives chia-based foods and beverages a distinctive gel texture. There is evidence that the crop was widely cultivated by the Aztecs in pre-Columbian times and was a staple food for Mesoamerican cultures. Chia seeds are cultivated on a small scale in their ancestral homeland of central Mexico and Guatemala and commercially throughout Central and South America.

Congee

Congee

Congee is a form of savoury rice porridge made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until the rice softens. Depending on rice–water ratio, the thickness of congee varies from a Western oatmeal porridge to a gruel. Since the history of rice cultivation in Asia stretches back to the Baiyue-inhabited lower Yangtze circa 10,000 BC, congee is unlikely to have appeared before that date. Congee is typically served with side dishes, or it can be topped with meat, fish, and pickled vegetables. Vivid experiences of eating or delivering thin congee as wartime or famine food often feature in diaries and chronicles. In some cultures, congee is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper; some may also eat it as a substitute for rice at other meals. It is often considered suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food.

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Corned beef and egg sandwich

Corned beef and egg sandwich

Corned beef and scrambled egg sandwich

Dan bing

Dan bing

Rolled egg pancake

Dou jiang

Dou jiang

Soy milk, used to make hot soup, serve with youtiao (deep-fried dough sticks), the combination of soy milk soup with fried dough is dou jiang you tiao (doujiang youtiao)

Egg sandwich

Egg sandwich

An egg sandwich is a sandwich with some kind of cooked egg filling. Fried eggs, scrambled eggs, omelette, sliced boiled eggs and egg salad are popular options. In the last case, it may be called an egg salad sandwich. Beyond the basic model of fried egg between slices of bread, many common sandwiches have variations that include a fried egg in addition to bacon, sausage, cheese, black pudding, cold cuts, or as another topping to a hamburger. A popular breakfast sandwich in New Jersey consists of a fried egg, pork roll, and American cheese on a roll. The Southern egg sandwich is an egg and cheese sandwich, with bacon and avocado as additions. A popular filling snack with British troops since at least World War I, the "egg banjo" is a sandwich of a runny fried egg between two thick slices of bread (if possible, buttered or with margarine), often accompanied by a mug of "gunfire" (a drink of tea and rum). A popular account of the term's origins is the act of cleaning spilt egg off one's body, the sandwich held out to the side with one hand whilst the other wipes at the drips, giving the impression of playing an invisible banjo.

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict is a common American breakfast or brunch dish, consisting of two halves of an English muffin, each topped with Canadian bacon or sliced ham, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. The dish is believed to have originated in New York City. There are conflicting accounts as to the origin of eggs Benedict.

Hong Kong style french toast

Hong Kong style french toast

French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights . When French toast is served as a sweet dish, sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon are also commonly added before pan-frying, and then it may be topped with sugar (often powdered sugar), butter, fruit, or syrup. When it is a savory dish, it is generally fried with a pinch of salt or pepper, and it can then be served with a sauce such as ketchup or mayonnaise.

Jianbing guozi

Jianbing guozi

Jianbing guozi is a popular Chinese street food originating in Tianjin. The exact origin of Jianbing guozi has not been verified, and it was the supplement of Tianjin Ta Kung Pao on 20 November 1933, that first appeared in modern newspapers. In June 2017, the skill of making Jianbing guozi was included in the fourth batch of municipal intangible cultural heritage list in Tianjin, and is said to be "one of China's most beloved street breakfasts", especially in Tianjin and the neighboring province of Hebei. It is a sub-category of jianbing and consists of pancakes made from mung bean flour, eggs, and youtiao (fried dough sticks) or crispy "dragons", served with sweet bean sauce, diced green onion, and optionally chili sauce.

Longganisa

Longganisa

Fresh or smoked pork sausage, some common versions are sweet, garlicky (Vigan), sour and garlicky (Lucban)

Lugaw

Lugaw

Lugaw, also spelled lugao, is a Filipino glutinous rice dish or porridge. Lugaw may refer to various dishes, both savory and sweet. In Visayan regions, savory lugaw are collectively referred to as pospas. Lugaw is widely regarded as a comfort food in the Philippines. According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, lugaw is one of the earliest historically-documented dishes in the Philippines. The Vocabulario de la lengua tagala by Fr. Pedro de San Buenaventura, defines "logao" (Hispanized as "aroz guisado") as "rice mixed with [coconut] milk or water or of both (porridge)."

Macaroni ham soup

Macaroni ham soup

Cream of chicken soup with macaroni and ham

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Omelette

Omelette

An omelette is a dish made from eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. It is a common practice for an omelette to include fillings such as chives, vegetables, mushrooms, meat (often ham or bacon), cheese, onions or some combination of the above. Whole eggs or egg whites are often beaten with a small amount of milk, cream, or water. The earliest omelettes are believed to have originated in ancient Persia.: 65 According to Breakfast: A History, they were "nearly indistinguishable" from the Iranian dish kookoo sabzi. According to Alan Davidson, the French word omelette ( French: [ɔm.lɛt]) came into use during the mid-16th century, but the versions alumelle and alumete are employed by the Ménagier de Paris (II, 4 and II, 5) in 1393. Rabelais (Gargantua and Pantagruel, IV, 9) mentions an homelaicte d'oeufs, Olivier de Serres an amelette, François Pierre La Varenne's Le cuisinier françois (1651) has aumelette, and the modern omelette appears in Cuisine bourgeoise (1784).

Pineapple bun

Pineapple bun

A pineapple bun is a kind of sweet bun predominantly popular in Hong Kong and also common in Chinatowns worldwide. Despite the name, it does not traditionally contain pineapple; rather, the name refers to the look of the characteristic topping (which resembles the texture of a pineapple). The origin of the pineapple bun is unclear. According to Tse Ching-yuen, current owner of Tai Tung in Hong Kong, this bakery was making pineapple buns when it opened in 1943. At the time, they were called 酥皮包 (crispy-skin buns), but customers kept calling them pineapple buns.

Scrambled eggs

Scrambled eggs

Scrambled eggs is a dish made from eggs , where the whites and yolks have been stirred, whipped, or beaten together (typically with salt, butter or oil, and sometimes water or milk, or other ingredients), then heated so that the proteins denature and coagulate, and they form into "curds". The earliest documented recipe for scrambled eggs was in the 14th-century Italian cookbook Libro della cucina.

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Taho

Taho

Tahô is a Philippine snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (sweetener and flavoring), and sago pearl (similar to tapioca pearls). This staple comfort food is a signature sweet and tahô peddlers can be found all over the country. The dish originates from Hokkien tāu-hū (豆腐), which was introduced to the Philippines via Hokkien immigrants.

Tea

Tea

Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and northern Myanmar. Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of Camellia taliensis. After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the third century AD, in a medical text written by Chinese physician Hua Tuo. It was popularised as a recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty, and tea drinking subsequently spread to other East Asian countries. Portuguese priests and merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century. During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among the English, who started to plant tea on a large scale in British India.

Toast

Toast

Toast is sliced bread that has been browned by radiant heat. The browning is the result of a Maillard reaction altering the flavor of the bread and making it crispier in texture. The firm surface is easier to spread toppings on and the warmth can help spreads such as butter reach its melting point. Toasting is a common method of making stale bread more palatable. Bread is commonly toasted using devices specifically designed for such, e.g., a toaster or a toaster oven. Toast may contain more acrylamide, caused by the browning process, which is suspected to be a carcinogen. However, claims that acrylamide in burnt food causes cancer have not been proven. Butter or margarine, and sweet toppings, such as jam or jelly, are commonly spread on toast. Regionally, savory spreads, such as peanut butter or yeast extract, may also be popular. Toast may accompany savory dishes such as soups or stews, or it can be topped with ingredients like eggs or baked beans to make a light meal. Toast is a common breakfast food. A sandwich may also use toasted bread.

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Youtiao

Youtiao

Youtiao , known in Southern China as yu char kway, is a long golden-brown deep-fried strip of wheat flour dough of Chinese origin and (by a variety of other names) also popular in other East and Southeast Asian cuisines. Conventionally, youtiao are lightly salted and easily separated by hand. Youtiao are normally eaten at breakfast as an accompaniment for rice congee, soy milk or cow's milk blended with sugar. Youtiao may also be known as a Chinese cruller, Chinese oil stick, Chinese donut [sticks], and fried breadstick, among others.

Zhaliang

Zhaliang

Zhaliang or cha leung , literally "fried two," is a Cantonese dim sum. It is made by tightly wrapping rice noodle roll around youtiao (fried dough). It can be found in Chinese restaurants in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau and Malaysia. It is often served doused in soy sauce, hoisin sauce or sesame paste and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is usually eaten with soy milk or congee.

Affogato

Affogato

Affogato , known in full in Italian as affogato al caffè (lit. 'drowned in coffee') and gelato affogato al caffè[citation needed] (lit. 'gelato drowned in coffee'), is an Italian dessert comprising a scoop of gelato or ice cream, either plain milk-flavored (fior di latte) or vanilla, topped with hot espresso. Some variations add a shot of amaretto, bicerin, Kahlúa, or other liqueur. Although restaurants and cafés in Italy categorize the affogato as a dessert, some restaurants and cafés outside of Italy categorize it as a beverage. Whether a dessert or beverage, restaurants, and cafés usually serve the affogato in a tall glass with a narrow bottom, allowing the ice cream to melt and combine with the espresso at the bottom of the glass. Occasionally, coconut, berries, honeycomb, and multiple flavors of ice cream are added. A biscotti can also be served alongside. Affogatos are often enjoyed as a post-meal coffee/dessert combo eaten with a spoon and/or drunk with a straw.

Annin tofu

Annin tofu

Almond tofu is a soft, jellied dessert made of apricot kernel milk, agar, and sugar popular throughout East Asia. The name "tofu" here refers to "tofu-like solid"; soy beans, which are the main ingredient of tofu, are not used. This naming convention is also seen in other East Asian dishes, such as Chinese yúdòufu (魚豆腐) and Japanese gomadōfu (胡麻豆腐). Apricot kernel milk is often confused with almond milk, as apricot kernel itself is often confused with almond. In the traditional recipe, the primary flavoring agent is apricot kernels, soaked and ground with water. The mixture is strained, sweetened, and heated with a gelling agent (usually agar). When chilled, the apricot kernel milk mixture solidifies into the consistency of a soft gelatin dessert.[citation needed]

Banana roll

Banana roll

Banana roll or banana cake is a common Chinese pastry found in Hong Kong, and may occasionally be found in some overseas Chinatowns. The pastry is soft and made with glutinous rice. Ingredients may vary depending on location. Each roll or cake is a banana oil flavored circular tube or flat object, slightly bigger than an adult sized index finger, thus resembling banana. Sometimes it may have a cinnamon swirl filling. At other times it may have a filling that consists of a very ripe banana diced finely. Occasionally the more traditional red bean paste may be used.

Baobing

Baobing

Chhoah-peng or Tsua bing, also known as Baobing (Chinese: 刨冰; pinyin: bàobīng) in Mandarin, is a shaved ice dessert introduced to Taiwan under Japanese rule, and then spread from Taiwan to Greater China and countries with large regional Overseas Chinese populations such as Malaysia and Singapore. It is especially popular in Taiwan where the dish has a variation called xuehua bing (雪花冰), in which the ice is not made out of water but milk.[citation needed] The dessert consists of a large mound of ice shavings with various toppings on top. A wide variety of toppings exist, but the most common ones include sugar water, condensed milk, adzuki beans, mung beans, and tapioca balls. Fruit are also used according to the season. Mango baobing is typically only available in the summer, while strawberry baobing is available in the winter. Traditionally, these shavings were created by hand using a large mallet to crush ice or a blade to shave ice. Now, most stores use machines, which result in finer, thinner ice shavings.[citation needed]

Bibingka

Bibingka

Bibingka is a type of baked rice cake in Filipino cuisine that is cooked in a terracotta oven lined with banana leaves and is usually eaten for breakfast or as merienda (mid-afternoon snack), especially during the Christmas season. It is also known as bingka in the Visayas and Mindanao islands. Bibingka can also be various other Filipino baked rice cakes, for example, those made with cassava flour (bibingkang cassava / bibingkang kamoteng kahoy), glutinous rice (bibingkang malagkit), or plain flour.

Biko

Biko

Biko, also spelled bico, is a sweet rice cake from the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and sticky rice. It is usually topped with latik . It is a type of kalamay dish and is prepared similarly, except the rice grains are not ground into a paste. They are also sometimes packaged and sold as suman. It is also known as inkiwar in Ilocano Northern Luzon and sinukmani or sinukmaneng in the Southern Luzon area. In the Muslim regions of the Philippines, it is known as wadjit in Tausug; wadit in Maranao; and wagit in Maguindanao.

Bing wan

Bing wan

Bingguo is a traditional dessert dish of Beijing cuisine. The main ingredients of this dish include lotus root, almonds, walnuts, lotus seed, sugar and lotus leaf. The lotus root, lotus seeds, almonds and walnuts are chopped into small pieces and steamed. The sugar is mixed with water and then boiled to become syrup. The lotus leaf is cut into small pieces and soaked in boiling water. The steamed ingredients are placed on the lotus leaf with syrup poured on top and then cooled by ice (or nowadays in a refrigerator) and served cold. As the dessert is served in a bowl, the dish is also called bingwan (冰碗, lit. "ice bowl"). Unknown, Unknown. "Bing Guo". visitbeijing. Beijing Tourism. Retrieved 25 September 2024.

Binignit

Binignit

Binignit is a Visayan dessert soup from the central Philippines. The dish is traditionally made with glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk with various slices of sabá bananas, taro, ube, and sweet potato, among other ingredients. It is comparable to various dessert guinataán dishes found in other regions such as bilo-bilo. Among the Visayan people, the dish is traditionally served during Good Friday of Holy Week. Binignit is also called giná-tan in Bikolano, tabirák in Mindanao Cebuano, alpahor in Chavacano, wit-wit in Hiligaynon, ginettaán, tambo-tambong, and paradusdos in Ilokano, ginat-an (or ginat-ang lugaw) in Waray and Hiligaynon/Ilonggo, kamlo in western Iloilo, scramble in Tuguegarao City, linugaw in Bacolod, and eangkuga by Akeanons in Aklan.

Black sesame bao

Black sesame bao

Sweet black sesame paste inside a steamed dumpling

Bread and butter pudding

Bread and butter pudding

Bread and butter pudding is a traditional bread pudding in British cuisine. Slices of buttered bread scattered with raisins are layered in an oven dish, covered with an egg custard mixture seasoned with nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon or other spices, then baked. In addition to being baked with custard, the pudding may be served with additional custard or cream. Sometimes raspberry, strawberry, blackberry or mixed fruit jam, marmalade, or other sweet preserves will be spread upon the bread, along with the butter. Other modern variations include scattering fresh grapes between the layers of bread, melting apples into the egg-milk mixture, and using unusual types of breads, such as brioche, to make it. Lemon or orange peel will add a characteristic flavour.[citation needed] It is traditional to use stale bread. The earliest bread and butter puddings were called whitepot and used either bone marrow or butter. Whitepots could also be made using rice instead of bread, giving rise to the rice pudding in British cuisine.

Cassava cake

Cassava cake

Cassava cake is a traditional Filipino moist cake made from grated cassava, coconut milk, and condensed milk with a custard layer on top. It is a very popular dish in the Philippines, where it is commonly eaten for merienda. It is also served during gatherings and special occasions. Cassava was one of the crops imported from Latin America through the Manila galleons from at least the 16th century. Cassava cake is a type of bibingka , having its origins from adopting native recipes but using cassava instead of the traditional galapong (ground glutinous rice) batter. It is also known more rarely as cassava bibingka or bibingkang kamoteng kahoy, although the English name is more commonly used. In Quezon, cassava cake is more commonly known as budin.

Chinese almond cookies

Chinese almond cookies

A Chinese almond biscuit or Chinese almond cookie is a type of Chinese pastry that is made with ground mung bean. It was originally made without almond, and the name refers to the almond shape of the original biscuit, but now the Chinese almond biscuit is usually round-shaped and often contains almond. The biscuit is one of the most standard pastries in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, and in some overseas Chinese bakeries. They are small, containing no filling. In addition, they are very crumbly.[citation needed] In Macau, the snack has been one of the most popular specialty products, especially near the Ruins of the Cathedral of St. Paul, streets are packed with 10 to 20 stores, all selling different flavors of almond biscuits next to one another. Hawkers line up on the street to push the merchandise. It is recommended on the official Macau tourism website as a famous Macanese snack. Choi Heong Yuen Bakery and Koi Kei are among the most famous brands of almond biscuits from Macau.[citation needed][peacock prose]

Chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring in other foods. The cacao tree has been used as a source of food for at least 5,300 years, starting with the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in what is present-day Ecuador. Later, Mesoamerican civilizations consumed cacao beverages, of which one, chocolate, was introduced to Europe in the 16th century.

Cocktail bun

Cocktail bun

The cocktail bun is a Hong Kong–style sweet bun with a filling of shredded coconut. It is one of several iconic types of baked goods originating from Hong Kong. The cocktail bun is said to have been created in the 1950s in Hong Kong, when the proprietors of a bakery resisted the wasteful disposal of unsold but perfectly edible buns. The solution was to incorporate these buns into a new product to be sold fresh. The day-old buns were ground up, with sugar and coconut added in, to create a tasty filling mixture; fresh bread dough was wrapped around this mixture to make the first filled "cocktail bun". Its name is said to have come from comparing the baker's mixture of hodgepodge of ingredients to a bartender's exotic mixture of alcoholic liquors, both formulating a "cocktail". The Chinese name is a literal translation of "cocktail", and is called a "chicken-tail bun".

Coconut milk pudding

Coconut milk pudding

Cold pudding made with coconut milk

Cow ear cookies

Cow ear cookies

Pinwheel-shaped cookies, there are both sweet and savory versions, common during Chinese New Year

Crème brûlée

Crème brûlée

Crème brûlée , also known as burnt cream, Cambridge burnt cream, or Trinity cream, and virtually identical to crema catalana, is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar. It is normally served slightly chilled; the heat from the caramelizing process tends to warm the top of the custard, while leaving the center cool. The custard base is generally flavored with vanilla in French cuisine, but can have other flavorings. It is sometimes garnished with fruit. The earliest known recipe of a dessert called crème brûlée appears in François Massialot's 1691 cookbook Cuisinier royal et bourgeois, but its ultimate origins are unclear.

Dan ta

Dan ta

Portuguese egg custard tart

Dou sha bao

Dou sha bao

Bao with a sweet red bean filling

Double skin milk

Double skin milk

Steamed milk egg pudding

Douhua

Douhua

Douhua is a Chinese sweet or savoury snack made with silken tofu. It is also referred to as doufuhua (Chinese: 豆腐花; pinyin: dòufuhuā), tofu pudding, soybean pudding or, particularly in northern China, tofu brains (Chinese: 豆腐脑; pinyin: dòufunǎo). Tofu is thought to have originated in ancient China during the Han Dynasty. Liu An, the grandson of Emperor Gaozu of Han, was ambitious and wanted to invent something to make people live forever. Even though he failed to make the magic pill, he used soybean and bittern to finally get niveous and tender tofu, which was surprisingly tasty. People named it "tofu brains" because of its softness. Tofu brains then became a popular snack during Han Dynasty. In the next 2000 years, it gradually spread throughout China. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Sichuan became the political, economical, and military center of Free China. The boss of a famous Douhua restaurant, Liu Xilu, learnt the methods of making beancurd from others and innovated on them until he finally came up with his own "secret recipe", which greatly improved its taste.

Dowry cake

Dowry cake

Marry girl cake or dowry cake is a traditional Chinese cake that was once a ceremonial cake used as a wedding gift in the traditional Chinese wedding ceremony, hence the name. Today, this cake is known more as a classic Chinese pastry rather than a wedding gift because it has lost most of its original significance due to cultural change. It can be found in Hong Kong and in some Chinatowns overseas. The cake is essentially a lightly sweetened sponge cake that may take any number of shapes or appearances. It is considered large compared to the size of most pastries. The internal base of the cake may consist of lotus seed paste. The importance of giving out marry girl cakes is illustrated by an anecdote dating from the era of the Three Kingdoms. At that time, Liu Bei had borrowed a place called Jingzhou for a long period of time and seemed in no hurry to return it to its owner, Sun Quan. Thus, Sun Quan's advisor, Zhou Yu, suggested a "honey trap". Sun Quan pretended that he was offering Liu Bei his recently widowed sister as a wife. Liu Bei had to leave Jingzhou for Suzhou to attend the ceremony. He knew it was a trick, however, after arriving in Suzhou, he told his soldiers to deliver cakes to Sun Quan. This move forced Sun Quan to accept the alliance as sealed. Since then, the Chinese follow the custom of sending marry girl cakes to share their happiness with family and friends.

Dragon's beard candy

Dragon's beard candy

Dragon's beard candy or Chinese cotton candy or Longxusu (simplified Chinese: 龙须酥; traditional Chinese: 龍鬚酥; pinyin: lóng xū sū) is a handmade traditional art of China. It is a traditional Chinese confectionary similar to floss halva or Western cotton candy, which can be found in many Chinese communities. Dragon's beard candy was initially created in China, but soon spread in popularity in other parts of East Asia and South East Asia, becoming a regional delicacy in South Korea in the 1990s, and Singapore in the 1980s, as well as more recently in Canada, and the United States. It has a low sugar content (19%) and low saturated fat content (2%). By comparison, cotton candy is fat free with a very high sugar content (94%). Dragon's beard candy has a very short shelf life. It is highly sensitive to moisture and tends to melt when exposed to higher temperatures, notably during warm weather. According to legend, Dragon's Beard Candy was invented during the Chinese Han dynasty by an imperial court chef who entertained the emperor one day by performing the complicated steps in making a new confection, which involved stretching a dough-like mixture composed from rice flour into small, thin strands. These strands reminded the emperor of a dragon's beard, and were sticky enough to adhere to one's face easily, so the concoction was named Dragon's Beard Candy. The name may also be attributed to the status of the mythical dragon as a symbol of the Chinese emperor, so presenting the confection as Dragon's Beard Candy was deemed acceptable due to the social nature of the candy. It was reserved only for the ruling class due to the complexity of the preparation process.

Egg roll cookies

Egg roll cookies

Thin rolled wafer cookies

Egg waffle

Egg waffle

An egg waffle is a spherical egg-based waffle popular in Hong Kong and Macau, consisting of an eggy leavened batter cooked between two plates of semi-spherical cells. They are usually served hot, and often eaten plain, although they may be served with fruit and flavors such as strawberry, coconut, or chocolate. It is referred to by its original Cantonese name, gai daan jai , and in English, an egg puff, bubble waffle, eggette, pancake balls, pancake waffle, egglet, and puffle.[citation needed] They are sometimes referred to as Hong Kong cakes in Chinatowns across America, especially in New York. One piece of egg waffle can have around 20 to 35 small round 'balls'. Egg waffles are among the most popular Hong Kong "street snacks" and were ranked No. 1 in a 100 most popular HK street snack listing. They have been a favored street snack since their emergence in the 1950s, when they were made with coal fire heating and sold from street kiosks in Hong Kong.

Eight-treasure rice

Eight-treasure rice

Steamed glutinous rice pudding with red bean paste in the center and topped with dried fruits and nuts, common during Chinese New Year

Ensaymada

Ensaymada

The ensaïmada is a pastry product from Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain, commonly found in southwestern Europe, Latin America and the Philippines. The ensaïmada de Mallorca is made with strong flour, water, sugar, eggs, mother dough and a kind of reduced pork lard which gives the pastry its name. The handmade character of the product makes it difficult to give an exact formula, so scales have been established defining the proportion of each ingredient, giving rise to an excellent quality traditional product. The pastry apparently has a Jewish origin, deriving from bulemas, using lard instead of olive oil as a means of escaping the suspicions of authorities during the Inquisition. The first written references to the Mallorcan ensaïmada date back to the 17th century. Though wheat flour was mainly used for making bread, there is evidence this typical pastry product was made during that period for festivals and celebrations.

Fa gao

Fa gao

Fa gao , also called fat pan (發粄) by the Hakka, prosperity cake, fortune cake, Cantonese sponge cake, is a Chinese steamed, cupcake-like pastry. Because it is often characterized by a split top when cooked, it is often referred as Chinese smiling steamed cake or blooming flowers. It is commonly consumed on the Chinese new year. It is also eaten on other festivals, wedding, and funerals by the Hakka people. The name of cake, fagao, is a homonym for "cake which expands" and "prosperity cake" as "fa" means both "prosperity" and "expand" and "gao" means "cake". The Hakka call the "top split" of the fa ban "xiao", which means smiling. It is said to be a sign of a coming fortune: the bigger the "top split", the better.

Gingerbread

Gingerbread

Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as a ginger snap. Originally, the term gingerbread referred to preserved ginger. It then referred to a confection made with honey and spices. Gingerbread is often used to translate the French term pain d'épices (lit. 'spice bread') or the German and Polish terms Pfefferkuchen and Piernik respectively (lit. 'pepper cake' because it used to contain pepper) or Lebkuchen (of unclear etymology; either Latin libum, meaning "sacrifice" or "sacrificial bread," or German Laib for loaf or German for life, Leben). Pepper is also referenced in regional names like Norwegian pepperkaker or Czech perník (originally peprník). The meaning of gingerbread has evolved over time. For centuries the term referred to a traditional European pastry, very like a modern cookie, traditionally used to make gingerbread men. In the United States the first known recipe for "Soft gingerbread to be baked in pans" is found in Amelia Simmons' 1796 cookbook, American Cookery.

Guilinggao

Guilinggao

Guilinggao , literal translated as tortoise jelly (though not technically correct) or turtle powder, is a jelly-like Chinese medicine, also sold as a dessert. It was traditionally made from the gao, or paste of the plastron (bottom shell) from the turtle Cuora trifasciata (commonly known as "three-lined box turtle", or "golden coin turtle", 金錢龜) and a variety of herbal products, in particular, China roots Smilax glabra (土伏苓, Tu fu ling). Although the critically endangered golden coin turtle (Cuora trifasciata) is commercially farmed in modern China, it is extremely expensive; therefore, even when turtle-derived ingredients are used in commercially available guilinggao, they come from other, more commonly available, turtle species. More often, commercially available guilinggao sold as a dessert does not contain turtle shell powder. They share the same herbal additives as the medicine and are similarly marketed as being good for skin complexion when ingested.

Hong dou gao

Hong dou gao

Steamed red bean cake

Hong dou tang

Hong dou tang

Hong dou tang, hong dou sha, or red bean soup or che dau do is a sweet Chinese dessert soup made from azuki beans. served in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and places with Chinese diaspora. It is categorized as a tong sui, or sweet soup. It is often served cold during the summer, and hot in the winter. Leftover red bean soup can also be frozen to make ice pops and is a popular dessert. In Cantonese cuisine, a red bean soup made from rock sugar, sun-dried tangerine peels, and lotus seeds is commonly served as a dessert at the end of a restaurant or banquet meal. Common variations include the addition of ingredients such as sago , tapioca, coconut milk, ice cream, glutinous rice balls, or purple rice. The two types of sugar used interchangeably are rock sugar and sliced sugar (片糖).

Hong Kong style french toast

Hong Kong style french toast

French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan-fried. Alternative names and variants include eggy bread, Bombay toast, gypsy toast, and poor knights . When French toast is served as a sweet dish, sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon are also commonly added before pan-frying, and then it may be topped with sugar (often powdered sugar), butter, fruit, or syrup. When it is a savory dish, it is generally fried with a pinch of salt or pepper, and it can then be served with a sauce such as ketchup or mayonnaise.

Hup tul woo

Hup tul woo

Sweet walnut soup

Jaggery

Jaggery

Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour. It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, and up to 20% moisture, with the remainder made up of other insoluble matter, such as wood ash, proteins, and bagasse fibres. Jaggery is very similar to muscovado, an important sweetener in Portuguese, British and French cuisine. Jaggery comes from Portuguese terms jágara, jagra, borrowed from Malayalam ശർക്കര , which is borrowed from Sanskrit शर्करा (śarkarā). It is a doublet of sugar.

Jian dui

Jian dui

Jiandui or sesame balls are a type of fried Chinese pastry made from glutinous rice flour. The pastry is coated with sesame seeds on the outside and is crisp and chewy after immediately being cooked. Inside the pastry is a large hollow, caused by the expansion of the dough. The hollow of the pastry is filled with a filling usually consisting of lotus paste, or alternatively, sweet black bean paste, or red bean paste. Depending on the region and cultural area, jiandui are known as matuan in North and Northwest China, mayuan (麻圆) in Northeast China, and zhendai (珍袋) in Hainan.[citation needed]

Jiuniang

Jiuniang

Jiuniang is a sweet, soup- or pudding-like dish in Chinese cuisine. It is also known as sweet wine or sweet rice wine. It consists of a mixture of partially digested rice grains floating in a sweet saccharified liquid, with small amounts of alcohol and lactic acid (0.5%). It is made by fermenting glutinous rice with a starter called jiuqu containing Rhizopus oryzae or Aspergillus oryzae and often yeast and bacteria. It was first developed as a by-product of mijiu production and generally speaking is partially digested rice from a young rice wine (or vinegar) ferment. If eaten quickly or held at 10 degrees or less, which halts the fermentation, the product can be consumed as jiuniang. If the temperatures are raised and fermentation continues, jiuniang will eventually produce rice wine or rice vinegar. Jiuniang is most commonly made and consumed in the winter, where fermentation can be halted easily.

Kai kou xiao

Kai kou xiao

Kai kou xiao is a fried sesame egg cake found in Chinese cuisine. Also called "smiling sesame cookies" or "laughing balls", they are a popular dish during Lunar New Year for their resemblance to a smiling mouth. The traditional culinary method of this dish begins with the preparation of flour, peanut oil, egg, sugar, malt sugar, sesame seeds and baking soda. With the exception of the sesame seeds, everything else is mixed together, and the resulting dough is cut into pieces. The sesame seeds are boiled in water and each small piece of dough is rolled in the sesame seeds. The end result is then fried on a skillet. The chef must lift the frying pan off the stove and put it back on depending on the situation. The resulting opening crack is where the literal name in Chinese comes from, as it resembles a happy smiling mouth.

Kalamay

Kalamay

Kalamay is a sticky sweet delicacy that is popular in many regions of the Philippines. It is made of coconut milk, brown sugar, and ground glutinous rice. It can also be flavored with margarine, peanut butter, or vanilla. Kalamay can be eaten alone, but is usually used as a sweetener for a number of Filipino desserts and beverages. It is related to the Chamorro dessert called kalamai. Kalamay is made by extracting coconut milk from grated coconuts twice. Glutinous rice is added to the first batch of coconut milk and the mixture is ground into a paste. Brown sugar is added to the second batch of coconut milk and boiled for several hours to make latík. The mixture of ground glutinous rice and coconut milk is then poured into the latík and stirred until the consistency becomes very thick. It can be served hot or at room temperature especially when eaten with other dishes. Viscous kalamay are often served cooled to make it less runny and easier to eat.

Kulfi

Kulfi

Kulfi is a frozen dairy dessert from the Indian subcontinent. It is often described as "traditional Indian ice cream". Kulfi originated in 16th-century Delhi during the Mughal era. It is part of the national cuisines of India and Pakistan.[citation needed] It is also popular in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East.[better source needed]

Liu sha bao

Liu sha bao

Egg yolk custard buns, traditionally made with salted duck eggs

Lo mai chi

Lo mai chi

Lo mai chi , known in Mandarin as nuomici, is a type of Chinese pastry. It is one of the most standard pastries in Hong Kong. It can also be found in most Chinatown bakery shops overseas. It is also referred to as glutinous rice dumpling. Today there are many different modern variations such as green tea flavor, mango flavor, etc. The glutinous rice ball can be dusted with dried coconut on the outside. The outer layer is made of a rice flour dough and the inside is typically filled with a sweet filling. The most common fillings are sugar with coconut and crumbled peanuts, red bean paste, and black sesame seed paste.

Longevity peach bao

Longevity peach bao

A longevity peach, or shoutao, is a type of lotus seed bun, sometimes with a filling made of red bean paste or lotus paste. It is white with a red dyed tip with a crease along the side, mimicking the shape of a peach. Occasionally, bakers add green decorations that mimic leaves. The longevity peach is a representation of Peaches of Immortality. According to Chinese folk legends, these peaches ripen every thousands of years, and grant immortality to humans when consumed. The pastry is typically served at the birthdays of elderly people to celebrate their achievement in having reached old age.

Macaron

Macaron

A macaron or French macaroon (/ˌmækəˈruːn/ MAK-ə-ROON) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and often food colouring. Since the 19th century, a typical Parisian-style macaron has been a sandwich cookie filled with a ganache, buttercream or jam. As baked, the circular macaron displays a smooth, square-edged top, a ruffled circumference—referred to as the "crown" or "foot" (or "pied")—and a flat base. It is mildly moist and easily melts in the mouth. Macarons can be found in a wide variety of flavours that range from traditional sweet such as raspberry or chocolate to savoury (as a foie gras).

Macaroon

Macaroon

A macaroon is a small cake or cookie, originally made from ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, but now often with coconut or other nuts. They may also include jam, chocolate, or other flavorings. The name macaroon is borrowed from French macaron, in turn from the Sicilian maccarone, a variant form of maccherone, the same word as macaroni. The origin of that is unclear; it may be from medieval Greek μακαρία, 'barley broth', or μακαρώνεια, 'funeral chant'. The etymology connecting it to Italian maccare, 'to bruise' is now rejected. The origin of the word may also have referred to a sort of gnocchi.[citation needed] Macaroons can be traced to a French monastery of the 8th century in the city of Cormery. Later, two Benedictine nuns, Sister Marguerite and Sister Marie-Elisabeth, came to Nancy, France seeking asylum during the French Revolution. The two women paid for their housing by baking and selling macaroons, and thus became known as the "Macaroon Sisters".

Maja blanca

Maja blanca

Maja blanca is a Filipino dessert with a gelatin-like consistency made primarily from coconut milk. Also known as coconut pudding, it is usually served during fiestas and during the holidays, especially Christmas. Maja blanca has the consistency of thick gelatine and a delicate flavor, and is creamy white in color.[citation needed]

Mango pudding

Mango pudding

Mango pudding is a popular dessert in Hong Kong. There is very little variation between the regional mango pudding's preparation. The dessert is also found in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Macau and is often served as dim sum in Chinese restaurants. The fresh variant is prepared by the restaurant or eatery and consists of agar or gelatin, mangoes, evaporated milk, and sugar. In addition, fresh fruit such as mango, strawberries, berries and kiwifruit, are occasionally added as garnish. Served and eaten refrigerator cold, mango pudding has a rich and creamy texture. Some Chinese restaurants make the mango pudding in fish shape because goldfish or koi expresses good luck in Chinese culture. Outside of dim sum and other restaurants, mango pudding can also be purchased at most Asian grocery stores or supermarkets. They can be purchased as a powder, which requires the addition of boiling milk or water to the powder, or in ready-to-eat portions.[citation needed]

Maruya

Maruya

Pinaypay (literally "fanned" in Tagalog and Cebuano), also known as maruya, is a type of banana fritter from the Philippines. It is usually made from saba bananas. The most common variant is prepared by cutting bananas into thin slices on the sides and forming it into a fan-like shape (hence its name), and coating it in batter and deep frying them. They are then sprinkled with sugar. Though not traditional, they may also be served with slices of jackfruit preserved in syrup or ice cream. Pinaypay are commonly sold as street food and food sellers at outdoor though they are also popular as home-made merienda snacks among Filipinos. A variant of pinaypay may also use dessert bananas, which are usually just mashed before mixing them with batter. They can also be made from sweet potatoes. Among Muslim Filipinos, this version is known as jampok, and traditionally use mashed Latundan bananas.

Marzipan

Marzipan

Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal , sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables. It can also be used in biscuits or rolled into thin sheets and glazed for icing cakes, primarily birthday cakes, wedding cakes and Christmas cakes. Marzipan may also be used as a baking ingredient, as in stollen or banket. In some countries, it is shaped into small figures of animals as a traditional treat for New Year's Day or Christmas. Marzipan is also used in Tortell, and in some versions of king cake eaten during the Carnival season.

Mooncake

Mooncake

A mooncake is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節). The festival is primarily about the harvest while a legend connects it to moon watching, and mooncakes are regarded as a delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is widely regarded as one of the four most important Chinese festivals. There are numerous varieties of mooncakes consumed within China and outside of China in overseas Chinese communities. The Cantonese mooncake is the most famous variety. A traditional Cantonese mooncake is a round pastry, measuring about 10 cm (4 in) in diameter and 3–4 cm (1+1⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) thick, with a rich, thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste (other typical fillings include red bean paste or mixed nuts) surrounded by a thin, 2–3 mm (approximately 1/8 of an inch) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs.

Mousse

Mousse

A mousse is a soft prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. Depending on preparation techniques, it can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick. A mousse may be sweet or savoury. Sweet mousses are typically made with whipped egg whites, whipped cream, or both, and flavored with one or more of chocolate, coffee, caramel, puréed fruits, or various herbs and spices, such as mint or vanilla. In the case of some chocolate mousses, egg yolks are often stirred into melted chocolate to give the final product a richer mouthfeel. Mousses are also typically chilled before being served, which gives them a denser texture. Additionally, mousses are often frozen into silicone molds and unmolded to give the mousse a defined shape. Sweetened mousse is served as a dessert or used as an airy cake filling. It is sometimes stabilized with gelatin. Savoury mousses can be made from meat, fish, shellfish, foie gras, cheese, or vegetables. Hot mousses often get their light texture from the addition of beaten egg whites.

Nai huang bao

Nai huang bao

Nian gao

Nian gao

Nian gao , sometimes translated as year cake or New Year cake or Chinese New Year's cake, is a food prepared from glutinous rice flour and consumed in Chinese cuisine. It is also simply known as "rice cake". While it can be eaten all year round, traditionally it is most popular during the Chinese New Year. It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time of the year because nian gao (年糕) is a homonym for "higher year" or "grow every year" (年高), which means "a more prosperous year". The character 年 is literally translated as "year", and the character 糕 (gāo) is literally translated as "cake" and is identical in sound to the character 高, meaning "tall" or "high". In Mandarin (though not all Chinese languages), Nian gao (年糕) also is an exact homonym of "sticky cake" (黏糕／粘糕), the character 黏／粘 (nián) meaning "sticky". This sticky sweet snack was believed to be an offering to the Kitchen God, with the aim that his mouth will be stuck with the sticky cake, so that he cannot badmouth the human family in front of the Jade Emperor. It is also traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year.

Ox tongue pastry

Ox tongue pastry

Ox-tongue pastry or horse-ear pastry (Chinese: 马耳; pinyin: mǎěr), also referred to as Chinese doughnut, is a Chinese pastry that is popular in south China in the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. It is a fried dough food that is elliptical in shape and resembles an ox tongue or a horse ear. The pastry texture is chewy, with a soft interior and a crunchy crust. Ox-tongue pastry is lightly sweetened, and eaten as part of breakfast with soy milk. The pastry is made in a similar way as Youtiao, with sugar typically added to the flour.

Panna cotta

Panna cotta

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatin and molded. The cream may be aromatized with coffee, vanilla, or other flavorings. The name panna cotta is not mentioned in Italian cookbooks before the 1960s, yet it is often cited as a traditional dessert of the northern Italian region of Piedmont. One unverified story says that it was invented by a Hungarian woman in the Langhe in the early 19th century. An 1879 dictionary mentions a dish called latte inglese (lit. 'English milk'), made of cream cooked with gelatin and molded, although other sources say that latte inglese is made with egg yolks, such as crème anglaise; perhaps the name covered any thickened custard-like preparation. The dish might also come from the French recipe of fromage bavarois from Marie-Antoine Carême in le pâtissier royal parisien, which is the same as the modern panna cotta, except that one part of the cream is whipped to make chantilly and included in the preparation before adding the gelatin.

Paper wrapped cake

Paper wrapped cake

Small chiffon cakes or sponge cakes baked in paper wrappers, similar in size to cupcakes

Pear syrup candy

Pear syrup candy

Pear-syrup candy, also known as lígāotáng or líqīnggāo (梨清膏), is a traditional medicine and confection from eastern area of the Jiangnan region of China, where it was traditionally used to relieve coughing, reduce sputum, and stimulate appetite.[medical citation needed] Its main components are pear juice, honey, and various kinds of herbs. With modern medical science, it is now rarely used to treat coughing; pear-syrup candy has become a souvenir and a snack, and is a part of Jiangnan culture. The history of pear-syrup candy can be traced back to 634 (the Tang Zhenguan Eighth Year). According to legend, the mother of Wei Zheng (a renowned official of the Tang dynasty) suffered from a cough, so the imperial court sent imperial physicians to treat her. However, Wei's mother felt that the medicines were too bitter to take, and so she failed to take them on time, and thus curing her took a long time.[citation needed] For this reason, Wei Zheng decided to make his own medicine, combining almond, chuanbei (bulbus fritillariae cirrhosae), tuckahoe, and juhong (red tangerine peel), and adding the combination to pear syrup, and finally decocting the whole thing into paste. Wei's mother took the medicine and was soon cured. After that, Wei shared this prescription to the public, and not only the upper classes but ordinary people produced it, so the method of making the candy became widespread. During the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), the production and sales of pear-syrup candy normalized, becoming a huge industry. In Luoyang, the western capital, there were countless shops selling it, and the production technology was quite mature. After the Jingkang incident in 1127, many of the craftspeople involved in its production moved to the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), in the south of China. They passed through Yangzhou and settled down in Hangzhou, the Southern Song capital. Thus, pear-syrup candy appeared in Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, and nearby areas. The candy has remained popular throughout Jiangnan since that time.

Pineapple bun

Pineapple bun

A pineapple bun is a kind of sweet bun predominantly popular in Hong Kong and also common in Chinatowns worldwide. Despite the name, it does not traditionally contain pineapple; rather, the name refers to the look of the characteristic topping (which resembles the texture of a pineapple). The origin of the pineapple bun is unclear. According to Tse Ching-yuen, current owner of Tai Tung in Hong Kong, this bakery was making pineapple buns when it opened in 1943. At the time, they were called 酥皮包 (crispy-skin buns), but customers kept calling them pineapple buns.

Pineapple cake

Pineapple cake

A small pastry with a pineapple filling

Profiteroles

Profiteroles

A profiterole , chou à la crème ( French: [ʃu a la kʁɛm]), also known alternatively as a cream puff (US), is a filled French choux pastry ball with a typically sweet and moist filling of whipped cream, custard, pastry cream, or ice cream. The puffs may be embellished or left plain or garnished with chocolate sauce, caramel, or a dusting of powdered sugar. Savory profiterole are also made, filled with pureed meats, cheese, and so on. These were formerly common garnishes for soups. The various names may be associated with particular variants of filling or sauce in different places. Choux pastry dough is piped through a pastry bag or dropped with a pair of spoons into small balls and baked to form largely hollow puffs. After cooling, the baked profiteroles are injected with filling using a pastry bag and narrow piping tip, or by slicing off the top, filling them, and reassembling. For sweet profiteroles, additional glazes or decorations may then be added.

Put chai ko

Put chai ko

Put chai ko is a popular snack in Hong Kong. It is a rice cake made from white or brown sugar, long-grain rice flour with a little wheat starch or cornstarch. Sometimes red beans are also added. The batter is poured into porcelain bowls and steamed until cooked through. Then it is allowed to cool and served at room temperature. Traditionally, the hawker inserts two bamboo skewers into the cake to turn it out and the eater holds the skewers to consume. At present, most put chai ko are sold in plastic bags.[clarification needed] The pudding cake is palm size and is sweet in taste. It is soft, but can hold its molded shape outside a bowl.

Sai mai lo

Sai mai lo

Sago soup or Sai mai lou is a type of tong sui dessert in Cantonese cuisine, which is also a variant of tapioca pudding. It is basically made by pearl tapioca , coconut milk and evaporated milk. The dish is traditionally prepared using sago starch, which is derived from sago palm pith. Other ingredients can also be added, such as taro, pumpkin, mango, etc.

Shortcake

Shortcake

Shortcake generally refers to a dessert with a crumbly scone-like texture. There are multiple variations of shortcake, most of which are served with fruit and cream. One of the most popular is strawberry shortcake, which is typically served with whipped cream. Other variations common in the UK are blackberry and clotted cream shortcake and lemon berry shortcake, which is served with lemon curd in place of cream. Shortcake is typically made with flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, salt, butter, milk or cream, and sometimes eggs. The dry ingredients are blended, and then the butter is cut in until the mixture resembles cornmeal. The liquid ingredients are then mixed in just until moistened, resulting in a shortened dough. The dough is then dropped in spoonfuls onto a baking sheet, rolled and cut like baking powder biscuits, or poured into a cake pan, depending on how wet the dough is and the baker's preferences. Then it is baked at a relatively high temperature until set. Strawberry shortcake is a widely known dessert made with shortcake. Sliced strawberries are mixed with sugar and allowed to sit an hour or so, until the strawberries have surrendered a great deal of their juices . The shortcakes are split, and the bottoms are covered with a layer of strawberries, juice, and whipped cream, typically flavored with sugar and vanilla. The top is replaced, and more strawberries and whipped cream are added onto the top. Some convenience versions of shortcake are not made with a shortcake (i.e. biscuit) at all, but instead use a base of sponge cake or sometimes a corn muffin.

Steamed eggs

Steamed eggs

Chinese steamed eggs or water egg is a traditional Chinese dish found all over China. Eggs are beaten to a consistency similar to that used for an omelette and then steamed. It is sometimes referred to as egg custard on menus. The eggs are beaten and water added to create a more tender texture. A good ratio of water to eggs is 1.5:1. Sesame oil, soy sauce, or chicken broth may be used to add additional flavor. Other solid ingredients may also be added to the mixture. The egg mixture is poured into a dish, which is then placed in a steamer and steamed until fully cooked. The eggs should be steamed until just firm, so that the texture of the eggs is still smooth and silky. A plate is usually placed on top of the bowl containing the egg mixture and left on while the egg is being steamed. Uncapped steamed eggs will have water on top of the finished dish due to the steam.[citation needed]

Steamed milk pudding

Steamed milk pudding

Steamed milk pudding, also known as "shuang pi nai" (双皮奶), is a popular Cantonese dessert made from milk, egg whites, and sugar, resulting in a silky smooth texture. It can be served hot or cold and is often enjoyed for its creamy flavor and nutritional benefits for the skin.

Suman

Suman

Suman, or budbud, is an elongated rice cake originating in the Philippines. It is made from glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk, often wrapped in banana leaves, coconut leaves, or buli or buri palm leaves for steaming. It is usually eaten sprinkled with sugar or laden with latik. A widespread variant of suman uses cassava instead of glutinous rice. There are numerous varieties of suman, with almost every town or locality having its speciality. Some are described below:

Suncake

Suncake

A suncake, or taiyang bing, is a popular Taiwanese dessert originally from the city of Taichung, in central Taiwan. The typical fillings consist of maltose , and they are usually sold in special gift boxes as souvenirs for visitors. Some famous suncake pastry shops always have long lines of people waiting to buy boxed suncakes. Suncakes are round, and they may vary in size. They are characterized by flaky crusts. Most people eat them with tea, and some people dissolve them in hot water to make a porridge-like dessert. The first suncakes were made by the Lin family in the Shekou area of Shengang Township, Taichung County (now part of Taichung City). The Lin family used condensed malt sugar as a filling for cake pastries. Later, pastry maker Wei Qing-hai modified the cakes to their current form.

Sweet mung bean soup

Sweet mung bean soup

Sweet potato soup

Sweet potato soup

Sweet potato soup is a Chinese dessert from Southern China and Hong Kong. In Cantonese cuisine, it is categorized as a tong sui or sweet soup, hence the Chinese name. The soup is usually thin in texture, but potent in taste. The recipe is simple, consisting of boiling the sweet potato for a long time with rock candy and ginger. Sweet potato is one of the most commonly found and abundant vegetables grown in China. With its simple recipe and large crop supply, sweet potato soup is one of the most accessible and affordable tong sui in the region.

Sweetheart cake

Sweetheart cake

A sweetheart cake or wife cake or marriage pie is a traditional Chinese cake with a thin crust of flaky pastry, made with a filling of winter melon, almond paste, and sesame, and spiced with five spice powder. "Wife cake" is the translation of 老婆饼 from Chinese, and although the meaning is "wife", the literal translation is "old lady cake", paralleling the colloquial usage of "old lady" for "wife" in English. In Hong Kong, it is known as a specialty of the Yuen Long District. The traditional variant is from Guangdong province, where the filling consists of candied wintermelon. The candied wintermelon mash is then combined with white sesame seeds and glutinous rice flour. Coconut in the form of mash or desiccated shreds and almond paste, as well as vanilla, are also sometimes added. The paste is encased in Cantonese-style pastry dough; the authentic flavour and flaky texture of the pastry is traditionally produced by using pork lard shortening, and glazing with egg wash. Due to its rising popularity in Western countries, brought about by immigration, butter is sometimes substituted in place of lard, though this will alter the taste. The level of sweetness is mild, compared to Western sweet pastries. Southeast Asian variations can include spices such as Chinese five spice . Although this spice is of Chinese origin, it was not traditionally used in sweetheart cakes. Sweetheart cake may be confused with the husband cake (老公饼 or Lao gong bing), which uses star anise in its filling.

Swiss roll

Swiss roll

A Swiss roll, jelly roll , roll cake, cream roll, roulade or Swiss log or swiss cake —is a type of rolled sponge cake filled with whipped cream, jam, icing, or any type of filling. The origins of the term are unclear; in spite of the name "Swiss roll", the cake is believed to have originated elsewhere in Central Europe, possibly Austria or Slovenia. It appears to have been invented in the nineteenth century, along with Battenberg cake, doughnuts, and Victoria sponge. In the U.S., commercial snack-sized versions of the cake are sold with the brand names Ho Hos, Yodels, Swiss Cake Rolls, and others. A type of roll cake called Yule log is traditionally served at Christmas. The spiral layered shape of the Swiss roll has inspired usage as a descriptive term in other fields, such as the jelly roll fold, a protein fold, the "Swiss roll" metamaterial in optics, and the term jelly roll in science, quilting and other fields.

Taho

Taho

Tahô is a Philippine snack food made of fresh soft/silken tofu, arnibal (sweetener and flavoring), and sago pearl (similar to tapioca pearls). This staple comfort food is a signature sweet and tahô peddlers can be found all over the country. The dish originates from Hokkien tāu-hū (豆腐), which was introduced to the Philippines via Hokkien immigrants.

Toffee

Toffee

Toffee is an English confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of 149 to 154 °C (300 to 310 °F). While being prepared, toffee is sometimes mixed with nuts or raisins. A popular variant in the United States is English toffee, which is a very buttery toffee often made with almonds. It is available in both chewy and hard versions. Heath bars are a brand of confection made with an English toffee core. Although named English toffee, it bears little resemblance to the wide range of confectionery known as toffee currently available in the United Kingdom. However, one can still find this product in the UK under the name "butter crunch". The origins of the word are unknown. Food writer Harold McGee claims it to be "from the Creole for a mixture of sugar and molasses", but which creole language is not specified. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first publication of the word to 1825 and identifies it as a variation of the word taffy (1817), both of which are first recorded as English dialectical[clarification needed] words.

Tong sui

Tong sui

Tong sui or tim tong is a general term for any sweet soup served as a dessert typically at the end of a meal in Chinese cuisine. Tong sui originated in the Lingnan region of China, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, and some parts of other provinces in China. Therefore, in the narrow sense, the term tong sui is used to refer to soupy desserts from Lingnan, while occasionally it is also used in the broad sense, referring to any soupy dessert in Chinese-speaking regions. A large variety of tong sui can be found in specialty stores dedicated to these desserts, called tong sui stores. Today, they have gained prominence in other parts of China and overseas. People can find tong sui stores in various parts of Canada, Australia, and the United States, showcasing the global appeal of these treats.

Ube halaya

Ube halaya

Ube halaya or halayang ube is a Philippine dessert made from boiled and mashed purple yam (Dioscorea alata, locally known as ube). Ube halaya is the main base in ube/purple yam flavored-pastries and ube ice cream. It can also be incorporated in other desserts such as halo-halo. It is also commonly anglicized as ube jam, or called by its original native name, nilupak na ube. The Philippines shows the highest phenotypic diversity of ube (Dioscorea alata), making it one of the likely centers of origin of ube domestication. Remains of ube have been recovered from the Ille Cave archaeological site of Palawan (c. 11,000 BP).

Water chestnut cake

Water chestnut cake

Water chestnut cake is a sweet Cantonese dim sum dish made of shredded Chinese water chestnut. When served during dim sum, the cake is usually cut into square-shaped slices and pan-fried before serving. The cake is soft, but holds its shape after the frying. Sometimes the cake is made with chopped water chestnuts embedded into each square piece with the vegetable being visible. One of the main trademark characteristics of the dish is its translucent appearance. It is one of the standard dishes found in the dim sum cuisine of Hong Kong, and is also available in select overseas Chinatown restaurants.

White sugar sponge cake

White sugar sponge cake

White sugar sponge cake is a type of Chinese pastry. It is made from rice flour, white sugar, water, and a leavening agent. While it is called a "cake", it is not served as a circular round cake. It is usually purchased as an individual square piece or a mini triangle. The cake is white in color, with a spongy and soft consistency. The taste is sweet, and sometimes has a slightly sour taste due to fermentation of the batter prior to cooking. Like most Chinese cakes, it is steamed, giving it a moist, soft, and fluffy texture, as opposed to a dry and firm one. If left exposed to the air, it hardens quickly. It is usually kept under some cover to preserve moistness. It is typically served hot, because when it is cold it is not as soft and moist. The batter is either poured over a bowl in a steamer, a Chinese steamer cloth or aluminum foil. If made from brown rice flour and brown sugar it is called a brown sugar sponge cake.

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