Chinese Sweet Soups (Tong Sui): 3 Warm Winter Dessert Recipes

Chinese sweet soups, called tong sui, are warm winter desserts made from black sesame, walnut, or taro and sago. The sesame and walnut versions are vegan, lightly sweetened, and thickened with rice flour in about 30 minutes.

What Is Tong Sui? Why Chinese Desserts Are Soups

Chinese sweet soups are known as tong sui, or “sugar water,” and are often served as a dessert after a meal. Enjoyed warm during winter, these comforting soups combine gentle sweetness with ingredients such as beans, seeds, fruits, and grains.

Soups for desserts might seem unconventional from an outsider's perspective, but they are a beloved way to enjoy sweets while also providing comfort for the soul in China. Winters can be harsh and unforgiving in China, so sweet gruels offer warmth but also nourishment and fulfill the craving for something sweet.

Here are three traditional Chinese dessert soup recipes that can be made at home using ingredients available at local supermarkets.

Black Sesame Soup

This dessert is popular in southern China and Hong Kong. Black sesame seeds are packed with essential nutrients like calcium, magnesium, copper, manganese, and iron. In traditional food culture, black sesame is also believed to help kidney function and promote healthy hair, which cannot be achieved just by consuming the soup.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of raw black sesame seeds
• 5 1/4 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of rice flour
• 1/4 cup of rock sugar (substitute with regular sugar, if unavailable)

Instructions:

1. Heat a pan, but ensure that it’s not smoking. Then toast the sesame seeds till they are fragrant and pop. Then transfer into a tray and let them cool.
2. Once cool, grind the seeds along with 1/4 cup of water till you get a smooth paste. Create a smooth slurry with the rice flour and a little water.
3. In a saucepan, heat the water and add the rice flour slurry. Keep stirring to prevent lumps.
4. Crush the rock sugar in a mortar and pestle or your blender, then add it to the saucepan along with the sesame paste.
5. Keep stirring till all of the sugar dissolves and the mixture starts to resemble a thick soup. Turn off the heat and continue to stir well for 5-10 minutes, then turn off the heat and stir well for 5-10 minutes, so as to achieve a silkier effect. You can also sieve the soup to make it smoother.
6. Servings: 4-5 people.

Walnut Soup

The soup is creamy, rich, and vegan because of walnuts and rice flour. Walnuts, with their omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, are beneficial for gut health. While walnuts are a nutritious part of the diet, there is insufficient evidence to claim that this Chinese dessert soup protects against cancer.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of raw walnuts
• 1 1/2 tbsp of rice flour
• 1 tbsp of oil
• 2 1/2 cups of water
• A pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar

Instructions:

1. Wash the walnuts thoroughly and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.
2. Roast them in a pan or a parchment-lined baking tray in a preheated oven at 320 F for 10 to 15 minutes. Set some aside to use as garnish.
3. Once the walnuts have cooled down, blend them along with the rice flour and oil.
4. Next, add 1/2 cup of water and blend until you achieve a smooth paste. Continue by adding the remaining water and blending once more.
5. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or a muslin cloth and transfer it into a saucepan.
6. Combine the salt and brown sugar with the uncooked walnut soup, and heat the mixture in a saucepan.
7. Keep stirring to prevent the formation of lumps and ensure even cooking. Bring it to a boil over medium heat.
8. That's it! Garnish it with roasted walnuts and enjoy the soup warm.

Taro and Sago Soup

This soup can develop a thick and goopy consistency if left overnight in the fridge and consumed cold during the summer. However, in the winter, people often prefer to enjoy it piping hot.

Ingredients:

• 7 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of sago (sabudana or tapioca pearls)
• 4 cups of taro (arbi)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup of chopped sweet potato
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup condensed milk (reduce the amount if you want)
• 1/2 tsp of salt

Instructions:

1. Soak the tapioca overnight for easy cooking. Boil them in water for about 15 minutes until you see a white center and they are slightly squishy. Drain and rinse off the starch.
2. Chop the taro into bite-sized pieces and boil it with 7 cups of water for approximately 20 minutes or until the vegetable is tender. Reserve at least 1 cup of uncooked taro for later.
3. Mash the taro with a handheld immersion blender until you achieve a smooth soup.
4. Add the chopped sweet potato and taro pieces to the soup. Simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring to prevent vegetables from sticking together.
5. Stir in coconut milk, condensed milk, and salt. Cook for about 3-5 minutes.
6. Add the drained sago. If the soup has thickened significantly, add a cup of boiling water.

Note: This Chinese sweet soup recipe is not vegan because it has condensed milk in it.

Tips for Smooth, Silky Sweet Soups

• Stir constantly after adding the rice flour slurry to avoid clumps.
• Pour the walnut or the black sesame paste into a fine sieve.
• Use rock sugar for sweetness, or else use normal sugar.
• Add some hot water if you think it is too thick.
• We can have these Chinese sweet soups hot in winter and cold in summer.
• Remember to refrigerate the soup in an airtight container if there are leftovers and consume it within 2 days.
• Stir a spoon of Cadbury cocoa powder into the black sesame soup to bring out a different flavor. Remember to add a little warm water while mixing the cocoa.

Other Chinese Sweet Soups to Try

• Red bean soup: Soup made of boiled red beans and sugar. Can be eaten either hot or cold.
• Mung bean soup: Light and sweet soup made of mung beans, usually eaten cold.
• Almond soup: A sweet and creamy soup made with ground almonds or almond flour.
• Tang yuan in sweet soup: A dish of soft sticky rice balls in a ginger syrup or other sweet soup.