We are all accustomed to seeing easy treats such as fortune cookies, almond cookies, and pudding at Asian restaurants. However, there’s a whole world of Asian desserts out there to explore. And every Asian cuisine has its own traditional desserts. Many are fruit based, while others are made with sugar and flour.
Most of us have a favorite Asian food restaurant, and when we go there, we love the unusual and delicious oriental desserts.
Asian desserts are a diverse array of flavorful and unique sweet treats that capture the essence of various cultural culinary traditions. As you explore the world of Asian desserts, you’ll find an assortment of ingredients, flavors, and textures that have been perfected over centuries across multiple countries in Asia. The wide range of delectable delights can be attributed to the rich mixture of flavors and regional ingredients found in local cuisines.
In your journey to discover Asian desserts, you can expect a world of flavors – from savory to sweet – and textures. The use of ingredients such as sweet beans, sticky rice, fruits, and sesame seeds is commonplace, with each dish taking on its own unique characteristics based on regional origins. Many of these desserts also hold a special cultural significance, being served at festivals, family gatherings, and milestone celebrations.
The vastness of Asia allows for the development of numerous dessert techniques and cuisines, each telling a story of tradition and creativity. Whether you’re a seasoned dessert connoisseur or new to these sweet indulgences, you will appreciate the unparalleled art, tastes, and cultural aspects of Asian desserts, making them truly something to savor and enjoy.
Although they may seem complicated to make, there are lots of Asian dessert recipes that are surprisingly easy.
From adorable little cookies to easy Asian dessert recipes for unique treats, there is something on this list for everyone.
Ready to learn more? Let’s dive in and explore these 24 delicious Asian inspired desserts.
Honestly, we don’t know what’s more adorable: these little Vietnamese snowballs or the cupcake wrappers they’re in.
And it’s certain that these adorable little Asian desserts will taste as delicious as they look.
At the center of each snowball is yummy soft sweetness that can be either mung bean or coconut (and the recipe has instructions for both). The outer layer is covered in coconut.
These little cookies are buttery and tender and require just six ingredients: butter, flour, eggs, pure vanilla extract, and sugar. You will need cocoa powder to make the chocolate cookies.
To make these cookies super delicate, you need to use a food processor to mix all the ingredients. However, there is another way to make them if you want to mix them by hand.
You can also use cookie cutters to make these cookies into traditional shapes, such as dove-shaped cookies.
When you make green tea mochi at home, it’s soft, sweet, and chewy with a delightful green color and yummy matcha flavor.
As a Japanese treat, this recipe is made with rice flour and matcha powder, and it can be modified to use fillings such as strawberry, red bean paste, or ice cream.
Best of all, you can make this green tea mochi in less than 15 minutes and it’s vegan.
If you’re looking for light Asian desserts to end the perfect summer meal, you can’t go wrong with this recipe for Chinese almond float that’s made with fresh fruit.
If you like baked apples, you will fall head over heels in love with this steamed pear recipe.
Steamed pear made like this is called Baesuk in Korean.
Traditionally, this Asian dessert is served to people who are sick with a cold. However, we think it’s probably pretty tasty even when you’re feeling well.
To make this recipe, you take a whole pear and cut off the top. Then, hollow out the inside.
The inside is stuffed with honey, pine nuts, jujube, cinnamon, and ginger.
Chinese nougat is sometimes called Chinese milk candy and it’s a traditional Chinese New Year candy.
The crunchy roasted peanuts make this candy so delightful. It will remind you a bit of the traditional holiday candy in the U.S. called divinity.
This Chinese milk candy may also remind you of a vanilla Tootsie Roll.
This marshmallow nougat is one of the Asian dessert recipes that are super simple to make because it has just three ingredients: roasted peanuts, marshmallows, and powdered whole milk.
Maybe you’re thinking that using red beans in a dessert seems odd, but don’t knock it until you try it.
These sweet red beans taste very similar to a sweet potato, and they’re delicious.
The sticky rice cakes have a crispy exterior, and the red beans on the inside are gooey and yummy.
You can smell the toasted sesame seeds while they are cooking.
This recipe calls for only four ingredients. In addition to the red bean paste, you need glutinous rice flour, vegetable oil, and white roasted sesame seeds.
Love ice cream? Everyone who is an ice cream lover must try kulfi.
Kulfi is a super creamy Indian ice cream that is made with pistachios and seasoned with cardamom and saffron.
Traditionally, kulfi is made by boiling milk for a long time over medium heat. However, this recipe makes it easy to prepare kulfi.
To make this kulfi ice cream extra creamy, you use heavy cream. The sweetness in this ice cream comes from sweetened condensed milk. Of course, anything with sweetened condensed milk is delicious.
Several different Asian cuisines have a version of mango sticky rice, and this recipe is for the Thai dessert. Wow, does this look delicious!
Also known as Khao neow mamuang, this recipe is specifically for coconut sticky rice with mango (mamuang) in the style of Thai street food.
Sticky rice is a staple in Thai cooking in the north and northeastern parts of the country.
To make this dish, the sticky rice is steamed and then mixed with sugar and thick coconut cream. Then, pair it with a beautifully ripe sweet yellow mango.
Not everyone knows this, but dairy products like butter and cream were somewhat uncommon in some areas of China (and other Asian cuisine) until recent decades.
Even now, you don’t typically find an oven in a traditional Chinese kitchen.
Chinese treats are traditionally made on the top of the stove.
This cake is similar to a Western idea of a cake, but it’s made using a steamer basket.
The only ingredients you need to make this cake are eggs, granulated sugar, cake flour, salt, vanilla extract, and baking powder.
This dessert with Asian flavors is perfect with a cup of bubble tea or boba tea. A dollop of whipped cream on top is perfect.
Japanese custard pudding that is flavored with caramel is called Purin. If you’ve ever eaten Mexican flan, this pudding probably looks similar to that.
The best thing about purin is that no special ingredients are required, so it’s easy to make this creamy pudding at home.
You can make this recipe with milk replacements such as almond milk, but the regular whole milk adds flavor.
To make the caramel sauce, you need water and sugar. Be sure to dissolve the sugar. Don’t stir it.
If you’re a coffee connoisseur, you can’t miss trying Vietnamese iced coffee.
Vietnamese coffee is a bit different from the iced coffee you get at places like Starbucks and is one of the more unique Asian desserts.
For one thing, it’s much sweeter. But also, you need crushed ice to make this delicious java recipe.
Also, Vietnamese coffee is made with dark roast coffee. The recipe author recommends either Cafe du Monde Coffee with Chickory or Trung Nguyen Premium Blend coffee.
However, you can use any dark-roast coffee, including a good French roast coffee.
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
