Desserts

There is no dessert course in the structure of a Chinese meal, at least not as a finale in the Western sense of the word. Sweets are looked upon as interludes; they are eaten as snacks between meals or they are served midway through a banquet as a pause during long hours of elaborate feasting.

Chinese desserts use vegetables as a base in addition to fruit, nuts, rice, and rice and wheat flours. The sweetened paste of red beans is a traditional filling for pastries, cakes, and puddings; a white fungus, simmered in a rock sugar broth, is a prestigious delicacy reserved for formal entertaining; and one of the classic desserts is a creamy stir-fried concoction that uses purée of beans, peas, and yams or lotus seeds. Since ovens are not standard cooking equipment, there is no home baking. There are flaky pastries and tarts available in Chinese bakeries, but these are commercial products that often look better than they taste, and I am not particularly fond of them.