10 Popular Asian Desserts

Take a peek at these wonderful treats that millions of people in Asia enjoy every day. While these desserts are extremely popular in their country of origin, they are often underrated elsewhere! You won’t find any chocolate cake here, but you will find something new to try. Here are some of the best and most beloved desserts that Asia has to offer.

Chinese Desserts

Mooncakes

These round pastries are eaten during the Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, a harvest festival celebrated annually in September or October. Mooncakes are usually eaten with tea and served in small wedges, and can come in many different varieties, with some being steamed, baked, or fried.

Sesame Balls

These are crispy and chewy fried pastries made from rice flour and coated with sesame seeds. While these are traditionally Chinese treats, they are also very popular in Vietnam, usually with some variation. The hollow fried pastry can be filled with lotus paste, red bean paste, peanut or other fillings depending on the cultural region. In China, you can enjoy these deep-fried treats with red bean filling, while in Vietnam the mixture is typically mung bean paste.

Thai Desserts

Mango Sticky Rice

One of Thailand’s most famous desserts, mango sticky rice is widely loved for its unique and harmonious contrast of flavours. It is made from glutinous sweet rice, which is soaked and mixed with coconut sauce and served with mango (of course!) and sesame seeds. The combination of warm, chewy, salty-sweet rice with cool, intense, sweet mango makes this dessert particularly iconic.

Red Rubies

Also known as thapthim krop, this dessert is made of diced water chestnuts coated in tapioca starch and red dye. They are usually boiled and served in a mix of coconut milk and sweet syrup and sometimes topped with things like crushed ice and jackfruit. The name comes from the fact that the dyed chestnuts in this dessert resemble red jewels.

Japanese Desserts

Shibuya Honey Toast

This delicious dessert was created in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, and has become loved all around the world. Essentially, this dessert is a loaf of honey-soaked milk bread. The soft inside is cut into cubes, coated in butter and honey, and then placed back into the loaf. You can top the dessert with any topping you decide. Commonly, the dessert is topped with candies, chocolate chips, whipped cream and sometimes further little pieces of toast.

Mochi

These Japanese pastel-coloured bites have been around since the year 1794, maybe even before that, and are becoming increasingly popular. Traditionally, mochi is made with glutinous rice and different shapes and colours can be created.

You can also enjoy these delicious desserts as an ice cream treat, an excellent refresher for those hotter days! Mochi ice cream took the world by storm and across the world people enjoy this unique dessert. It is commonly sold and enjoyed around the New Year and is known as a “sign of the season” in Japan. The dessert is a symbol of good fortune, which is one of the reasons why it is so beloved.

Filipino Desserts

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Ube Halaya

This dessert consists of boiled and mashed purple yams (ube), milk, and butter. The milk is boiled with the ube then cooked on a low heat for around forty-five minutes until the mixture thickens. This colourful dessert has a buttery, creamy and sweet flavour. You can also make ice cream and cake using Ube Halaya.

Buko Pie

This beloved coconut dessert from the Philippines contains both young coconut meat and condensed milk, creating a dense texture in every slice. Tourists and locals travel to Laguna for the pie, stores such as Colette’s and Lety’s have become iconic destinations for this delicious pastry. Modern interpretations often incorporate almond or vanilla extracts into the recipe, but for purists, it’s coconut all the way.

Taiwanese Desserts

Pineapple Cakes

This Taiwanese dessert consists of a fragrant buttery crust and a pineapple jam filling, making it utterly delicious. In Taiwan, pineapple is a symbol of luxury and hospitality, and a famous feng shui symbol of wealth, fortune, and prosperity. These pastries are Taiwan’s best must-buy souvenirs.

Korean Desserts

Bingsu

One of Korea’s most well-known desserts, Bingsu is a milk-based shaved ice dessert, often topped with fresh fruit and condensed milk, amongst a wide variety of other things. This ‘fluffy’ ice dessert is extremely versatile and can incorporate many different flavours through the various toppings that you can use.

You can purchase some of these on our online oriental supermarket, or you can buy the ingredients and have a go at making some at home.