7 Asian Desserts That Everyone Should Try

Asian cuisine has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years but for how much praise the dishes receive, the desserts of these cultures have not reached the same popularity. It’s amazing how cuisine can differ from culture to culture and because many of these desserts haven’t become mainstream I will be showcasing and trying popular Asian desserts. I will review their texture, describe the flavor, and list similar flavors. I will rate how sweet each dessert is on a scale of 1-10, 1 being low sweetness like rice, for example, and 10 being high sweetness, like pure sugar. Neither pole of the scale should be ideal for a dessert: a median score of 5 or 6 will be considered perfectly sweet and balanced.

The first destination is the Philippines. Halo-halo in Tagalog translates to “mix-mix,” which is a very fitting name. Halo-halo is a cold frozen dessert and is most commonly eaten during hot days in the summer. It is made of crushed ice, condensed milk, evaporated milk, or coconut milk, with many sweet toppings such as sweetened kidney beans, coconut strips, sago, flan, fruit preserves, and others mixed in and topped with a scoop of ube ice cream. It is served unmixed so that the person eating it can mix it themselves. The texture reminded me of a milky smoothie or Icee with jellies mixed throughout. The flavor is a sweet, milky, coconut flavor with a variety of mix-ins. I tasted something different in every bite. If I had to compare this to a similar dessert, I would say it is similar to a coconut or ube milkshake with shaved ice and toppings. I would rate the sweetness pretty high; every topping is sweet, it has ice cream, condensed milk, and many sweet mix-ins: 9/10 sweetness. You can get halo-halo at most Filipino restaurants; this is where I bought mine. 

Another popular dessert found in the Philippines is cassava cake. Cassava is a carb-rich root native to the Philippines. The cake has two layers: a thick, dense paste with shaved coconut within, and on top, a layer of custard. The flavor of the bottom layer is mildly sweet and thick while the custard layer is sweet and silky. Together the two layers taste very balanced so I rate the sweetness level at a 6. Cassava cake can be found in Filipino bakeries among many other sweet desserts. I bought mine at a Filipino bakery in Vallejo.

Moving on to Chinese desserts, I tried tang yuan. Tang yuan are little white balls with a similar flavor to rice and mochi. Traditionally, there is a black sesame filling that is sweet and similar in flavor to peanut butter. If I could most accurately describe tang yuan, I would describe it as chewy mochi with a melted peanut butter filling. I would say that these felt like more of a snack food than a dessert being mildly sweet and incredibly easy to prepare. I found it at an Asian grocery store in the frozen section, and all you have to do to prepare them is to put them in boiling water and wait until the balls float. While the filling was incredibly sweet, the dessert was mostly glutenous rice flour and not too sweet so I gave it a sweetness rating of 4/10. Tang yuan is often served at Chinese weddings, family gatherings, and Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year is a huge international holiday, and there are many foods and desserts served during the celebration. It is a misconception that Mooncakes are eaten during Chinese New Year; it is actually most commonly eaten during another celebration in China, the Mid Autumn Festival. Mooncakes are thick pastries that have different fillings such as lotus seed paste, red bean paste, mung bean paste, and other varieties. It is common to have a salted egg yolk in the center of the cake to represent the full moon. I tried the red bean filling mooncake and the flavor was very rich. The outside pastry of the mooncake is like a dense cake texture similar to the outside part of a fig bar. The filling was a thick paste of sweet red beans. The red bean flavor is very popular in Asia. the beans themselves are tasteless, but when used in desserts, sugar is added to make them super sweet. The mooncake was very dense and very sweet, but the flavor was good. Because of the big portion of red bean paste within, the cake was very sweet so I have given it a ranking of 8/10. I also tried the lotus paste filling version of the Mooncake and this was much less sweet. The filling tasted a little fresher and less dense, which balanced out the taste and made it not too sweet. I rate this flavor 6/10 for sweetness. Finding mooncakes can vary in difficulty depending on where you are, but there was a wide selection of them at my local Asian grocery store in the bakery section.

Mango sticky rice is popular all across Asia, but it originates from Thailand. Mango sticky rice is a dessert, as the name suggests, with sticky rice topped with mango and coconut milk. I ordered mine at a Thai restaurant and its taste was strikingly balanced and satisfying. The sticky rice was chewy and warm while the mango added a nice tartness and light sweet flavor. The coconut milk was light but added another simple, but essential flavor to the dish to add depth. The rice wasn’t very sweet at all, but the sauce and the mango rounded it out as a delightful dessert. I will rate the sweetness a perfect 5/10, not too sweet and not bland. The dish lets its other flavors shine while embellishing them with refreshing sweetness.

There are many renditions of shaved ice from all over the world, from American snow cones to Japanese kakigōri, and Korean bingsu. Bingsu is a milk-based shaved ice and this explains how smooth it is. At the time I tried this, I hadn’t known it was milk-based and assumed it was water-based shaved ice. I was blown away by the bingsu’s fluffy, soft, soft-serve-like texture. The texture is similar to powdery finely shaved snow. It quickly melts in your mouth and there are many flavors of bingsu. Flavors include strawberry, green tea, red bean, chocolate, and many more. Flavors can also be seasonal and the flavor I chose to taste was honeydew melon with toppings of strawberry and honey. There are many toppings for bingsu too, like condensed milk, other fresh fruits, small sweets, and more. The honeydew flavor was summery and light which was accentuated by the soft texture. The flavor was very sweet but still refreshing like ice cream and so I will rate it a 7/10 on sweetness. Bingsu specifically can be hard to find only because there are many dishes like it. I found mine at an Asian dessert restaurant, but you can find similar desserts at many Asian restaurants.

Gulab Jamun is a South Asian dessert and is very popular in India. However, it actually has its origins in Persia. Gulab jamun consists of milk solids formed into a dough and fried, then soaked in a super sweet syrup flavored with cardamom, saffron, cloves, and rose water. It tastes similar to doughnut holes soaked in a simple syrup, but seasoned with spices. Gulab jamun is a favorite of the ones I’ve tried because of its simplicity. The spices add complexity and the fried dough adds a richness to the dish. The syrup does make it a little sweet with a rating on 8/10 sweetness, but servings are usually kept small. Usually people only eat 2 or 3 at a time and with how rich and sweet it is they end up being very satisfying. Most Indian restaurants serve this as their dessert, and it should be easy to try out yourself.

All these desserts have their own characteristics and uniqueness that is hard to put into words. This just goes to show how worthwhile it is to try food from new and different cultures. I myself have found some new favorites that I never thought I needed to try. Most of these desserts are much more healthy than mainstream desserts and may be more appropriate when you crave something sweet. I encourage everyone to try these desserts; appreciation for different cultures has greatly increased in modern times and I hope people continue to be curious and open minded.