LUXOMME

This is maybe one of the most simplest desserts that exists that doesn't compromise on quality or taste. It's a type of dessert called tong sui in Cantonese (糖水) and if translated literally into English means sugar water. 

It's part of a family of different dessert soups that are traditionally served in Cantonese cuisine after meal or when you're craving something sweet. Usually these dessert soups will have some kind of added health benefits, such as desserts like Snow Fungus with Gingko and Red Dates which in Chinese culture is said to be protective of the body. 

No evidence has been shown to support this claim but it's absolutely delicious so if claiming that it's healthy allows me to eat more, I say why not!

My top three favorite tong sui are 'tapioca with coconut milk and taro', 'mango sago', and 'black sesame'. Today we are making the black sesame one, also known as Zi Ma Hu (芝麻糊)

According to one site, Zi Ma Hu (芝麻糊) is chock full of iron, magnesium, calcium, vit B1, phytosterols and sesamin.

Lesson of the day, since I had to look it up, Sesamin is an anti-fat lignan which means that the more I eat of this, the more I can eat of everything else.

Right?

Only five ingredients are needed for this dessert: black sesame, short grained rice, rock sugar, coconut milk and water!

So simple. 

Making the Zi Ma Hu in itself takes a relatively short amount of time, but the rice needs to be pre-soaked for at least an hour in cold water. 

You'll know it's ready when the grains turn a milky white and are easily crumbled.

This soaking process helps soften the grains to prepare them for blending, ensuring smoothness of your final dessert.

Next, while the grains are soaking, you want to dry roast your sesame seeds on medium heat until smoke starts coming out and your seeds start popping. 

Drain the water from the rice. 

Some people will save this milky water and turn it into a facial toner as there are apparently whitening and anti-acne effects, but I just dump it into the sink. 

Do sinks benefit from whitening products?

Asking for a friend.

This next step is the most important part. Placing the soaked grains of rice as well as roasted sesame seeds into a blender with a 1:2 ratio, we then add water to blend. 

After blending on high for 5 minutes, I did something sneaky and stole a taste, concluding that it wasn't sesame enough... so, I dumped a whole lot more in the blender.

You can never have too much sesame right?

What you end up with is this ultra creamy mixture that's ready for the next step.

Cooking!

Remember how we added uncooked grains of rice earlier and blended it with the sesame? Well the rice exists to thicken up the soup, equivalent to flour or potato in some savory creamy soups.

It requires constant stirring to make sure the mixture doesn't clump up, but what you're left with is this deliciously creamy and thick dessert.

This is the final step that really pulls the Zi Ma Hu together.

Toss in a little coconut milk to make it extra creamy and it's ready to serve!

I like mine chilled with a little sprinkle of roasted sesame seeds on top for a bit of added texture.

A perfect shot of sweetness for mornings in bed.


naomi