Steamed Papaya Bowl with White Fungus, Red Dates and Wolfberries (甜水)

One of my hubby’s friend posted a picture of a dessert stewed in a papaya on Facebook, which was how this dessert came about (thanks Evelyn for the advice on how to make this). I’ve had desserts made of papaya and white fungus before, but not inside a papaya. The idea of having this cold, refreshing dessert served in a papaya bowl is especially tempting in the hot weather.

The dessert is refreshing, easy to prepare and healthy. The ingredients in this dessert such as white fungus, red dates , wolfberries and barley are also believed to have many health benefits. I ate it chilled on a hot day, and one serving wasn’t enough!

Steamed papaya bowl with white fungus, red dates and wolfberries – serves 1

Ingredients

• One small half-ripe papaya (I used a papaya that was about 900 g)
• A small piece of white fungus (雪耳)
• A small quantity of South Almonds (南杏)
•  A small quantity of wolfberries (枸杞子)
• A small quantity of barley (薏米)
• 8 pieces of pitted red dates (红枣)
• 4 pieces of sugared winter melon, cut into small pieces (糖冬瓜)
• Enough water to fill the papaya

Method

• Preparing the papaya: cut a strip of papaya skin and flesh away from one side of the papaya. Dig out the flesh and seeds, leaving only a thin layer of flesh. Keep that strip of papaya skin for covering the bowl later. Cut up a little of the flesh into small cubes to be placed back into the bowl later.
• Preparing the ingredients: Wash and then soak the white fungus, South Almonds, wolfberries, barley and red dates for about 20 minutes.
• Place the soaked ingredients (white fungus, South Almonds, wolfberries, barley and red dates), cut-up sugared winter melon, and a little of the papaya flesh into the papaya bowl.
• Fill with water till about 4/5 of the way.  Cover the papaya bowl with the strip of papaya skin. Place in a big pot and steam for about one hour.  Cool the papaya bowl down and chill in the refrigerator to serve it cold.

Lemongrass Chinchow Dessert (甜水)

It’s almost the end of the one month school holiday, and we are finally going on a vacation! I’m busy packing today, plus the weather was so hot this morning that I did not feel like doing anything elaborate. So I made a easy and refreshing dessert of lemongrass and chin chow which can be finished before we leave tomorrow.

To prepare the dessert, boil the lemongrass and pandan leaves for about an hour. After it has been chilled, add in the chin chow and its ready to serve. The lemongrass and pandan leaves give the dessert a lovely soothing fragrance, and the chewy chin chow goes well with the flavours. You can add a couple of drops of lime juice if you wish.

Lemongrass chinchow dessert (makes 6-8 glasses)

Ingredients

• 6 small stalks of lemon grass, washed
• 6 pieces of pandan leaves, washed and bundled together
• 9 cups of water
• 70 g of rock sugar
• 250 g of unsweetened chin chow jelly
• A few drops of lime juice per glass (optional)

Method

• Wash and cut up each stalk of lemon grass into 3 pieces. Cut each piece length-wise to expose the fleshy parts inside and smash the lemongrass so that more fragrance will be released when it is boiling.
• Boil lemongrass stalks and pandan leaves in the water over a low flame for an hour. Add the rock sugar towards the end and stir till it dissolves. Discard the lemongrass stalks and pandan leaves. After it has cooled down, chill in the refrigerator.
• Cut up the chin chow into small pieces and mix into the lemongrass water before serving. Add a couple of drops of lime juice if you wish.

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.