You’ll probably hear me say this again and again. After I become a mother, I have a stronger desire to connect to my roots. I want my children to have a sense of heritage and a connection to the culture. So I started looking into more and more Chinese cuisine recipes.
Here’s the problem: I feel that Chinese dishes are kind of “Ma Fan” (Cantonese for troublesome and a hassle.) You have to learn about the new ingredients and prepping takes forever. I’ve got two young children so I’m about efficiency and convenience at this point of my life!
So when I see a dish that I want to try, I often ask myself: How do I “Stepherize” it? Meaning, adapting it so that it’s a quick and straight forward recipe. And I feel that many young moms of this generation would love recipes like that, too!
Anyway.
I love Chinese desserts. There’s a category of Chinese desserts that’s especially appealing to me: sweet soups. They are soups that are served hot and sweet, and the ingredients are all softened from stewing. And according to Chinese medicine and cultures, each kind of sweet soup serves to balance and rejuvenate certain functions of our bodies (That’ll be another post one day). So today, I’ll share with you my quick and easy Sweet Pear Stew.
For this recipe, you only need 3 basic ingredients: Ya-Li Pear, rock sugar, and water.
Richard got me this cute little pink ceramic pot in Hong Kong over Christmas, it’s perfect for making individual sized dessert!
I cut up my pear into small chunks so it would cook faster and it’ll fit in my little pot.
Add enough water to fill the pot. Then put in your sugar. You decide how sweet you like the stew! I usually put in a few small chunks. Make sure you cut out the part that surrounds the core of the pear. If you don’t, it’ll make your stew slightly more tart.
That’s how much rock sugar I use. Some times I put more, depending on what I feel like.
The next part is a little tricky. In Chinese cuisine, there’s a method of cooking called “dun” (Dun Dun Dun!!! 😀 sorry, couldn’t resist….). Which is kind of like steaming, except the container is half immersed in the boiling water. I guess it’s like when you melt your chocolate on a double boiler?
I make it work by using my sauce pan filled with with about 2-3 inches of water, then I use a small dish or a lid to elevate my pink pot so it is not in direct contact with the heat. Make sure you use something sturdy. And if it’s a small ramekin, fill it with some water facing up so that it won’t move around in the pot. Once, I made the mistake of putting it upside down, thinking it would make it more sturdy. Not engineer material right here!
I found these in my kitchen that I can use to elevate my pink pot in the sauce pan: a jar lid, a porcelain ramekin, and a ginger grater. Basically, anything small and that you can put in boiling hot water.
You can see the little ramekin underneath the pink pot here.
Stew it for about 20-30 minutes, and you have yourself a simple, healthy, and just perfectly fruit dessert stew! How easy is that? The best part? You have minimal dishes to wash after this!! (Can you tell I don’t like doing dishes? 🙂 )
Drinking this Sweet Pear Stew often is supposed to help “sooth” your chi and hydrates your body. I’m not a medical profession, obviously, but this is what I was told by all the Chinese “po po’s” (grandmothers)! And grandma’s always know best!
Let me know how you like it!
Love,
Stephy
Chinese Sweet Pear Stew
1 Ya-Li Pear
Small chunk of rock sugar (approximately 10g. Adjust to taste)
1/2 Cup Water (depending on the size of your container)
- Cut the pear into small chunks.
- Put all ingredients into a porcelain container with a lid.
- Place a small dish or ramekin inside a sauce pan and fill it with enough water to touch the porcelain container.
- Place the lid on the sauce pan. Cook on medium for 20-30minutes.
- Serve hot.
You can add other ingredients into the recipe to enhance flavor. Try red dates or Chinese almonds.
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