Question 1

What are the most popular Chinese desserts?

Accepted Answer

Sweet rice balls, 汤圆 (tāngyuán); mooncakes, 月饼 (yuèbing); egg tarts, 蛋挞 (dàntà); red bean soup, 红豆汤 (hóngdòu tāng); tofu pudding, 豆花 (dòuhuā); sesame balls, 麻团 (mátuán); double-skin milk pudding, 双皮奶 (shuāngpínǎi); mango pomelo sago, 杨枝甘露 (yángzhī gānlù); and pineapple cakes, 凤梨酥 (fènglísū), from Taiwan. In the street, candied haws on a stick, 冰糖葫芦 (bīngtáng húlu), and Hong Kong egg waffles, 鸡蛋仔 (jīdànzǎi).

Question 2

What is dessert called in Chinese?

Accepted Answer

甜品 (tiánpǐn) or 甜点 (tiándiǎn), sweet things. In Guangdong and Hong Kong, sweet soups are 糖水 (tángshuǐ), sugar water, eaten hot in winter and cold in summer, often as a late-night snack. A Chinese meal usually ends with fruit, 水果 (shuǐguǒ), not dessert; sweet dishes are eaten between meals, at festivals or with dim sum.

Question 3

Why are Chinese desserts not very sweet?

Accepted Answer

Many are made from beans, rice, seeds and fruit: red beans, 红豆 (hóngdòu), mung beans, lotus seeds, 莲子 (liánzǐ), snow fungus, 银耳 (yín’ěr), black sesame and sticky rice, sweetened lightly. Several are also eaten as food that is good for the body, cooling in summer or warming in winter. The best praise for a dessert in Chinese is 不太甜 (bú tài tián), not too sweet.

Question 4

What desserts are eaten at Chinese New Year?

Accepted Answer

New Year rice cake, 年糕 (niángāo), because it sounds like 年高, higher every year; steamed sponge cake, 发糕 (fāgāo), for 发, to prosper; eight-treasure rice, 八宝饭 (bābǎofàn), on New Year’s Eve; and sweet rice balls, 汤圆 (tāngyuán), at the Lantern Festival fifteen days later, round for the family together, 团圆 (tuányuán). In the north they are called 元宵 (yuánxiāo), after the festival.

Question 5

What are Hong Kong desserts called?

Accepted Answer

Double-skin milk pudding, 双皮奶 (shuāngpínǎi), from nearby Shunde; mango pomelo sago, 杨枝甘露 (yángzhī gānlù); egg tarts, 蛋挞 (dàntà); egg waffles, 鸡蛋仔 (jīdànzǎi); and pineapple buns, 菠萝包 (bōluóbāo), which have no pineapple, only a crackly sugar top that looks like one. Dessert shops also sell sago soup, 西米露 (xīmǐlù), and herbal turtle jelly, 龟苓膏 (guīlínggāo).

Question 6

How do I order dessert in Chinese?

Accepted Answer

Say 我要一碗红豆汤 (wǒ yào yì wǎn hóngdòu tāng), I’d like a bowl of red bean soup. Ask for it 热的 (rè de), hot, or 冰的 (bīng de), cold, and 少糖 (shǎo táng), less sugar, or 不要太甜 (bú yào tài tián), not too sweet. In Sichuan, cool down after spicy food with iced jelly, 冰粉 (bīngfěn).

Question 7

Can’t hear it?

Accepted Answer

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	In Chinese	When	What it is
New Year rice cake	年糕 niángāo	Chinese New Year	Sticky rice cake; 年糕 sounds like 年高, “higher every year”
Steamed sponge cake	发糕 fāgāo	Chinese New Year	A fluffy cake that rises and splits on top: 发 also means to prosper
Eight-treasure rice	八宝饭 bābǎofàn	New Year’s Eve	Sweet sticky rice with red bean paste and eight kinds of dried fruit and nuts
Sweet rice balls	汤圆 tāngyuán	The Lantern Festival	Rice balls filled with black sesame or peanut in warm syrup; round for 团圆, the family together
Green rice balls	青团 qīngtuán	Qingming, in spring	Rice balls coloured green with mugwort, filled with red bean paste
Sticky rice parcels	粽子 zòngzi	The Dragon Boat Festival	Sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves: sweet with red bean or dates in the north, salty with pork in the south
Mung bean soup	绿豆汤 lǜdòutāng	Summer	Sweet, cooling mung bean soup, often served cold
Mooncake	月饼 yuèbing	The Mid-Autumn Festival	A rich round pastry with lotus seed paste, often with a salted egg yolk for the full moon
Candied haws	冰糖葫芦 bīngtáng húlu	Winter, in Beijing	Hawthorn berries on a stick in a hard, glassy sugar shell

Chinese desserts