Deserts

SWEET IS THE SWEETIEST


"Do you have a sweet tooth? You Do?!! Well, try these Chinese snacks and sweets. They are delicious!! Try them NOW!!


Almond Tea
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 cup shelled almonds
1/2 cup rice
4-5 tablespoons of sugar

Preparation:
Soak the almonds in boiling water, then remove the skins. Grind the rice and almonds together with 2 1/2 cups water, which should be added gradually. Strain the resulting smooth, thin paste through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. PUt the paste and the strained rice and almonds through the grinder a second time. Add sugar and 1 1/4 cups of water to the strained mixture. Stir until smoothly blended.

Cooking:
Put the mixture into a heavy saucepan. Bring to the boil slowly(it burns very easily), and insert an asbestos pad under the pan. Stir continually. As the liquid thickens, add 2 tablespoons water (or use milk or cream if you prefer) at a time to prevent it getting too thick. Continue to stir for 30 minutes.


Walnut Soup Serves 4-6

Preparation:

Blanch the walnuts and remove the skins. Grind them to a powder, then add 1 quart water.

Cooking:

Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer gently for 40 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth. Add the sugar, powdered rice, and 1 1/4 cups of water to the strained walnut 'milk'. Put the mixture into heavy saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Insert an asbestos pad and continue to stir for 25 minutes. Serve in soup bowls.



Steamed Pears in Honey Serves 6

Ingredients:

6 pears
1/4 cups of honey
1/8 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons liqueur(Chinese Rose Dew, Kirsch, Cherry Brandy or Creme de Menthe)

Preparation:

Peel the pears, leaving the stems as 'handles'.

Cooking:

Stand the pears in a pan and barely cover with water. Simmer for 30 minutes, sprinkle the pears with sugar, and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Reserve half or the water in the pan for later use and pour away the reminder. Refrigerate the pears for 2 hours; then add the honey and liqueur to the reserved water ands stir until well-blended. Put the mixture in the refrigerator.

Serving:

Place each pear in a dessert bowl and pour over the chilled liqueur/honey mixture. Serve with whipped cream if desire.



T'ang Yuen(Sweet Soup Balls) Serves 10-12

1/2 cup tapioca

1 14 cups glutinous rice flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup sweetened black bean paste

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

3 slices ginger root

Preparation:

Soak the tapioca for 4 hours, then drain throughly. Mix the rice flour with the tapioca. Knead until the tapioca and rice flour are very well-blended. Mix the brown sugar with the bean paste and blend well. Take a piece of dough and form it into a ball the size of a large cherry; then flatten it slightly. Make a deep indentation in the middle of the ball and place some of the sweetened black bean paste inside. The paste should amount to about one third of the quantity of dough in the ball. Fold the edges of the dough-ball round the filling, completely enveloping the black bean paste. Seal the edges carefully and shape the dough into a ball once more, rolling it until it is quite round. Repeat this process until all the dough and black bean paste have been used up.

Cooking:

Heat the sugar and the ginger in 2 quarts of water. Bring to the boil and simmering liquid.Drop al the balls carefully into the simmering liquid. COntinue to simmer gently for 20 minutes, by which time the balls should have floated up to the surface.

Serving:

Divide the bals among the serving dishes, which should be half-filled with the sugar/ginger soup.

NOTE:BE CAREFULL WHEN BITTING INTO THE BALLS. IT COULD BE VERY HOT!!!!!

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