Interesting Facts About Dessert Soup

Here in England, soups are a staple of the diet and subsequently available in many formats such as tinned, packaged, and even available as a warmer from the coffee vending machine. Elsewhere, in countries such as the Philippines and Japan, soups are popular cold, and often served as a dessert. I decided to explore this phenomenon further.

In China, 'tong sui' refers to an entire grouping of pudding desserts that contains sweet soups and custards. Egg tong sui is a classic example that is simple to make and combines water, egg, and sugar. The water is boiled and the sugar added, afterwards the egg is then dropped in but without any pre-mixing. A thicker tong sui is a black sesame soup that also involves boiling water until hot. Instead of egg, sesame seeds are crushed into flour and added. There are also a range of more unique and unlikely types of tong sui, which can include such ingredients as three lined box turtle and frog's fallopian tubes.

In Asia, the azuki bean is a popular ingredient for red bean soup dessert. Red bean soup varies from country to country and in China is most often consumed as a simple tong sui, with just the addition of sugar. In Japan, red bean soup is most often served warm as Shiruko, a porridge like dessert including sweetened azuki beans with Mochi (rice cake), chestnuts, or dumplings. In Korea, red bean soup differs again and is referred to as Patjuk. Here, the consumption of Patjuk is tied to the tradition an eaten specifically during holiday time. Again, Patjuk, is often eaten with a glutinous rice cake.

In the Philippines, Ginataan is arguably one of the most popular dessert soups. Served cold, it is made from coconut milk that is heated and extracted at different times in order to acquire a thick and thin milk. The thin milk is cooked with pieces of sweet potato, taro (a Filipino leaf vegetable), yam, plantain, jack fruit and tapioca; and the thick milk is added again prior to serving. Although often served hot or cold, Ginataan is also popular served frozen similar to ice cream.

However, dessert soups are not only popular in the east. Fruit soups are served in Scandinavian and Baltic areas and, again, available hot and cold with the accompaniment of dumplings. Ingredients for these tend to include raisins, prunes, blackberries, cherries, cream, spices and alcohol.

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