Almond and Seeds Crisps/Brittle

I have just finished baking my pineapple tarts and that left me with lots of egg whites. What should I do with it? There were a couple options but this Almond and Seeds Crisp seems to be the best pairing. Amongst all the wonderful yummy Chinese New Year Chinese snacks, this is the lesser evil. It is made of almond flakes, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds, all heavily loaded with vitamins and minerals. It is baked and not fried. And if that is not enough to convince you, it is awfully scrumptious in its mildly sweetened, aromatic and super crunchy combination. This is one snack that I am happy to be addicted to. And boy, was I addicted! I prided myself in having great self-restraint but when it comes to this snack, all reservations seem to go down the drain. I nibbled, and nibbled and nibbled...still nibbling as we speak.

Molten Lava Black Sesame Tang Yuan 流沙黑芝麻湯圓

I was so busy preparing for Christmas that I nearly forgotten about this year's Winter Solstice Festival. Winter Solstice Festival or Dong Zhi is supposed to be a huge day for the Chinese. To kick start this festival, I am planning to make black sesame tang yuan, or black sesame glutinous rice balls, this year. Tang yuan is served during this festival to signify reunion and wholeness in the family.

Black Sesame Soup/Zhi Ma Hu 芝麻糊

This post is long overdue. I received a lot of requests for this recipe. Somehow, I procrastinated. I was given a big bag of black sesame seeds the other day and I immediately thought of making this long overdue black sesame soup. So here it is, my zhi ma hu.

Hu, when translated basically means paste. Therefore, it is no surprise that this dessert comes in a form of paste. Zhi ma hu is basically grounded black sesame seeds made into a sweet pasty dessert. Depending on where you come from and how you would like your dessert, this dessert can range from a very thick pasty cream to thin runny ones. I like mine not too thick but pasty enough to be called a hu, something like the consistency of a mushroom soup. The ultimate black sesame soup must be smooth to the throat, warm to the tummy and intensely fragrant when eaten.