Asian Sweets

By the time of Sung dynasty,cane sugar,called thang, was a dominant sweetener in the Chinese diet ,as it was in the diets of those in other Asian countries. Sugar is mentioned in various Han dynasty poems and in other early written records. It is discussed as kanche or chuche,,as a reed growing in south China. It is suggested as a valuable beverage to counter drunkenness. As early as the eighth century BCE, sugar canes are chewed; then they are called shihmi. Hard sugar cakes are chewed as well, but made from malted sugars, not sugar caned. Both of these sweeteners are to be had in what is now Hanoi,as well as in many areas of southern China.

A publucation titled Thang Auan Phu, written by Wang Cho, is about aane sugar use in earlier days. It was published circa 1154 CE, when cane sugar was not the only sweetener used. Malted cakes were another, they  were called "stone sugar."Both were significant sweeteners in Chinese and Vietnamese diets.These"stone cakes"were made by soaking grains of wheat or rice in water , allowing them to sprout, drying  them in the sun, cooking them,and when dried again, cutting them into cakes. Both of these made their way to other countried in Asia and their use was so important that these confections became supplemental delicacies, were popularly traded and sent to the royal court as tribute items.

Other sugars, somewhat later, are imported from India or from Persia,and still others are home-grown. Peddlers make sugar candies for children, selling them on sticks in the form of humans, birds and other animals.The use of sugars from beets doed not come until hundreds of years later and probably from Arab countries as late as the Tang dynasty.

Today , all sweeteners are used in every Asian country, some more than others,and some use lots more than others do. Most use sweeteners for snacks between meals.These days, the intake of sugars for candy,cakes and soft drinks is increasing yearly, and by leaps and bounds. In Malaysia, for example, there are reports of up to 30percent of total calories coming from sugars.

Westerners think Asian sweets either too sweet or virtually unavailable. How wrong they are on both counts.While they look to the end of a meal for their sweets, they hardly know about other usage in other parts of the meal and between meals. Restaurateurs should use sweets as Asians do, and deature them in their soup and snack categories. Candied apples are one of the most famous of Chinese sweets; so are candied potatoes.The other day, I had a delicious dish of candied eggplant and potatoes. They had cut the latter in interesing shapes and could have been a hot seller. I also had a sweet soup loaded with goji berries(once called wolfberries)that looked beautiful and tasted even better. Any fresh fruit or vegetable made this way could win the hearts,minds and taste buds of their clientele.

Restaurant chefs should feature candied rice dumpling soup , baked bananas, boiled fruits alone or with sweet potatoes . tangy pineapple sticks and so much more. They are missing  the profit  bandwagon without these items, and missing it again by not serving sweet teas before, during and after their meals. I suggest they feature apple teas, blueberry teas, pomegranate teas and teas and tisanes from other fruits and vegetables. Add hibiscus teas, those made with lemon balm, rose hips, ginger and more to items that bring in big bucks and a bigger clientele. Many of

these are high in plant estrogens and could not be healthier. So healthy they are, that they will increase bottom dollars-a healthy business behavior, for sure.

What follows are a few recipes to try ; then ask you r chef to create their own, push their use by photographing them, getting a dietitian to provide nutrition information about them ,and more. Use these and other sweet foods to help your customers develop healthier  sweet intakes.