Help with Asian desserts

[wizcat3]

Help, Help I need help. When you think of an Asian Restaurant, what kind of desserts do you think about? Other than infusing with spices and using fruits from that area, Im sorta stuck with anything more. I like to use interesting plating of indivigual desserts, however, they must relate to the Asian menu. I think someone should write a book of just desserts from that whole area. For people llike me it would be of great assistance. If there is I cant find one. Thanks ahead of time

[mudbug]

Depends on which Nationality or Country you're referring to. Do you have a specific one in mind?

[Chefkell]

What part of Asia? Does it have to be authentic? I've had great sucess doing some fusion-esque type stuff.

Lemongrass Sorbet Napoleon with Sweet Wasabi dusted Won Ton Wrappers

Galangal Creme Brulee with Caramelized Lychees

Fruit Sushi...Use coconut milk in the suhi rice, wrap it around a piece of mango and roll in taosted peanuts instead of sesame seeds. You can also dehydrate raspberry coulis on a silpat to make a homemade version of a "fruit Rollup" and use that instead of nori...serve with pomegranite essence instead of soy.

There's a lot of stuff...sift through books on savory stuff and try to find something you can suplement sweet stuff for. Good luck.

[mike]

cool desserts chefkell...
apart from indian cuisine , asian desserts tend not to be dairy based & use a lot of fruit. Generally thyre pretty basic & fruit orientated. check out chefzaldyph a member of chef talk, he has his own website too & im sure he is an oracle .

chow

[momoreg]

I'm thinking 'dumplings'. You can fill them with virtually anything, and you can freeze them, and steam them off when you need 'em. You can also flavor the wrappers with chocolate! Try fillings such as tapioca or sweetened rice, with bits of fruit...Use your imagination.

You can go nuts with sorbets: How about lychee or durian.

All over Chinatown, you'll find New Year's bean cakes. You can do your own rendition, if you can find a recipe. They're really different, and yummy.

It may sound trite, but think of all the fun things you can do with fortune cookies: You can flavor them, fill them, garnish with them, or insert your own little fortunes.

Also, in the Phillipines and Malaysia, you'll find a lot of rice desserts, wrapped in banana leaves, as well as 'sundaes', with agar jelly, corn, shaved ice, and syrup, among other things. They also make an amazing peanut pancake, and I'm sure you can locate that in a good Malaysian cookbook.

[momoreg]

BTW, wizcat, we really like talking about desserts in the baking and pastry forums. Please visit us there!

[mudbug]

momoreg,
Stop! My stomach's growling! LOL!


wizcat3,
Are you looking for traditional ethnic deserts or are you looking to modernize them as proposed above?

[wizcat3]

Momoreg, sorry about putting thread in the "question" forum. Should you move it?
Thanks all of you for your help and directing me toward the right direction. I certainlly have alot of work to do now. Alot of tasty ideas there. Ive been thinking about French pastries too long. Im not needing anything authentic . Fusion and moderation will fit the bill, thank heavens. I took alook at chefzaldyph's web page and again lots of stuff there also. I'll be in NYC next week and I'll go to Chinatown to find those bean cakes and peanut pancakes, yum !! Books could be a little difficult here as B&Noble and Borders do not have too much. My favorite bookstore is Kitchen Arts and Letters in NYC I may have some questions later. Thanks again!!!!!!

[chiffonade]

My favorite Asian Dessert...

Hot Candied Apples
from Chinese Cuisine from the Master Chefs of China

This works well with bananas which was the way I had it originally.

3 Medium Green Apples, peeled, cored and wedged
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water
3 Tblsp. Sesame Oil plus 1 tsp. for brushing on platter
5 cups vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 or more bowls of icewater

Roll the apple wedges in the dry cornstarch, then place in a bowl of the cornstarch paste; stir to coat them evenly.

Brush 1 tsp. of the sesame oil on a large serving platter and warm the oiled platter. The oil will keep the apples from sticking when they are ready to serve.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok. When the oil is VERY hot (about 425- 450 degrees) and smoking, drop the apple pieces in, one by one. When they crackle (indicating that the cornstarch coating is well fried and crisp), scoop them out with a strainer and drain them thoroughly.

Clean the wok and heat the remaining sesame oil over a medium flame. Add the sugar and stir, slowly at first, and then quickly, until the mixture turns golden and bubbles. Lower the heat and when the bubbling has completely subsided, add the apples to the syrup. Toss the wok repeatedly (AND CAREFULLY) to coat the apples evenly on all sides until each piece is thoroughly coated.

TO serve: Place a bowl of icewater on the table. Using chopsticks, dip the tips of the chopsticks first into the ice water, then place 2-3 pieces of candied apple into the icewater bowl. Toss them to chill. Repeat with remaining apple wedges. Serve immediately directly into dessert plates. The candy will harden and the fruit inside will be hot and moist.

This is especially dramatic when done at table (the icewater dunking part).

[wizcat3]

Hi chiffonade, Candied apples sounds interesting, but I am a little confused as to why u put the carmeled apples in ice water before eating unless its because they are hot. OR is that before plating, as in the way a restaurant would do. Also, would these hold for a couple of hours+, even tho the apple would be only room temp for service?

[Mezzaluna]

Chiffonade, I always wondered what the method was for this dessert! I've seen this done with apples and bananas. The hot syrup becomes almost like a creme brulee coating on the fruit, wizcat. It chills it instantly. I remember seeing this served in a Chinese restaurant many years ago. It's very impressive to watch the server do this, especially when they do it right and don't splatter the hot sugar on themselves or the customers! Thanks, Chiffonade!

Momo, the dumplings sound lovely, and I bet they'd look lovely with fruit (mango, cherry, etc.) showing through the translucent dough. Hmmm- what kind of wrapper do they use in Thai and Vietnamese restaurants? Is it a rice wrapper? It's nearly transparent.

I know Greece isn't exactly Asia, but I was very impressed by a supremely simple dessert I was served there. The platter was filled with orange chunks, sprinkled with walnuts, drizzled with honey and dusted lightly with cinnamon. Very refreshing! I'm sure someone will have some variations to offer.

[Suzanne]

If I may jump in and answer for Chiff -- the point is that when you put the hot-caramel-coated apples into the ice water, they solidify IMMEDIATELY into a clear, crunchy candy-apple crust. (As well as cool down enough to eat). It's actually pretty impressive to see. But I've never thought about it being done ahead of time; it's one of those tableside things meant to get the customers oohing and aahing.

Now, my 2¢: when I worked at an Asian-fusion place, I made lemongrass sorbet, banana-passion fruit sorbet, mango sorbet, pineapple-champagne sorbet, coconut ice cream.

But as Mudbug said, if you can tell us more which country or countries, we can get more specific with our suggestions.

[chiffonade]

Originally posted by wizcat3
Hi chiffonade, Candied apples sounds interesting, but I am a little confused as to why u put the carmeled apples in ice water before eating unless its because they are hot. OR is that before plating, as in the way a restaurant would do. Also, would these hold for a couple of hours+, even tho the apple would be only room temp for service?

If you ate them hot out of the wok, it would be the equivalent of trying to eat jam hot out of the pot. They would scald your lips right off your face! The technique is designed to create a hard "candy" like shell around the hot fruit. It sounds intimidating but try it. The ingredients are relatively cheap and it's worth a go. I did this for 8 people when I prepared a full formal Chinese dinner for my gourmet group.

*** Edited to say DOH! I didn't see that Suzanne answered!! Thanks, Suzanne

[momoreg]

I keep thinking to myself, "why water"? Wouldn't something flavorful be even better? Like apple juice....or better yet, some kind of apple cocktail? It does sound yummy anyway.

[Pongi]

Just my 2 cents!

if you're thinking about Middle Eastern/Indian cooking, any kind of pudding or icecream could be good provided that it's made with ingredients suitable in the area (rice, dairy, fruits: personally, the only thing I wouldn't use is chocolate) and maybe "orientalized" with appropriate flavours like almond, cinnamon, orange blossom or rose water. Other options are puff pastries or crèpes, filled with nuts or a flavoured custard.

As for a Chinese/Japanese meal, why not playing with adzuki bean paste? Apart from the traditional Asian desserts, it's a very versatile ingredient which reminds me a lot of chestnut jam, with the additional appeal of its nice color. You can easily make it from raw adzuki beans and find your own way to enjoy it. An option could be for example a rice parfait or icecream, served with a hot adzuki bean coulis.

Pongi