Stewed Pears, Apricots, Cranberries with Basil Seeds (甜水)

A couple of months back, my hubby and I were invited by friends to a lovely dinner at Ritz Carlon’s Summer Pavilion Restaurant. It was a wonderful evening of great food, ambience and company. The most memorable dish of the evening was the dessert – a sweet soup (甜水) comprising of Ya Pears (鸭梨), dried apricots, dried cranberries, South Almonds (南杏) and basil seeds. It was served cold and made a light and sweet end to a great meal. It looked easy enough, so I made up my own version of it. I enjoy having this dessert cold, especially when the weather is hot!

Stewed pears, apricots, cranberries with basil seeds (serves 6)

Ingredients

• 100 g dried apricots (cut into halves)
• 30 g dried cranberries
• 1 tbsp basil seeds (Kiwi seeds)
• 10 g South almonds  (南杏)
• 3 whole Ya pears (diced)
• 7 cups of water
• Rock sugar to taste

Method

• First, boil the South Almonds for about 10-15 minutes separately to soften it.
• Soak the apricots and cranberries for about 30 mins to soften them.
• Set the water to boil, add in the South Almonds, apricots and cranberries and boil for about 20 minutes or till the dried fruits are softened.
• Add in the diced Ya Pears and boil till it softens. Add a little more water if too much water has evaporated.
• Add in the amount of rock sugar till it reaches the sweetness you like.
• Add the Basil seeds (I found it in the agar agar section of the supermarket. It is called Kiwi seeds) in and stir. The seeds will plump up when in contact with hot water.
• Serve either warm or cold.