Tag: Chinese desserts

For millennia, lotus seeds have been valued in Chinese medicine for their purported health benefits. However, when processed into a paste for use in pastries and sweets, the answer to the question "Is lotus seed paste healthy?" becomes more complex due to the addition of sugar and oil.

Used for millennia in traditional Asian medicine, lotus seeds boast numerous health benefits, but is lotus seed paste good for you when it is often laden with sugar and oil? The answer lies in understanding the composition and ingredients of the paste itself. While the seeds offer valuable nutrients, the preparation method significantly impacts the final product's nutritional value.

Consumed in China for millennia, Hasma soup, or 'snow frog jelly', was once reserved for royalty and is traditionally believed to offer various health benefits. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), it is valued for its potential to nourish the lungs and kidneys, improve skin appearance, and restore energy.

According to nutritional data, a single filled sesame seed ball contains approximately 120-130 calories, but removing the filling significantly changes its energy content. The exact number of calories in a sesame seed ball without filling depends heavily on the size, ingredients, and oil used during frying.

In many parts of East and Southeast Asia, grass jelly is known by several names, including leaf jelly and herbal jelly. While the terms are often used interchangeably to refer to the same sweet and cooling delicacy, some regional variations or specific herbal preparations can lead to subtle differences.

Originating from traditional Chinese medicine, Sunity herbal jelly is a popular dessert enjoyed for its refreshing and 'cooling' effects on the body, especially during hot weather. This distinctively dark jelly, often paired with a separate sweet syrup, is a common sight in Asian grocery stores. This guide delves into the specific ingredients that give it its unique character and flavor.

According to a 2023 report, the average daily sugar consumption per capita in China is 30.4 grams, which is nearly half the level of the United States. This statistic, however, doesn't tell the whole story about Chinese eating habits and their complex relationship with sweetness.

According to nutritional data, a typical 100-gram slice of steamed taro cake contains approximately 129 calories, though this can vary significantly based on ingredients and preparation. Understanding how many calories in a taro cake depends on whether it's savory, sweet, fried, or steamed.

The calorie count for a Chinese cookie is not standardized and depends entirely on the type, with a fortune cookie containing as few as 20-30 calories while a deep-fried sesame ball can exceed 130 calories. Understanding the wide variety is key to answering the question of how many calories does a Chinese cookie have.

Over 90% of the Chinese population is lactose intolerant, a major historical and genetic factor explaining why traditional Chinese food is generally not made with milk. The historical reliance on agriculture over large-scale dairy farming also shaped the cuisine, favoring ingredients like soy milk and other plant-based proteins as alternatives. This has led to a widespread misconception that no Chinese food contains dairy, though modern and regional variations do exist.