Osmanthus Flower Snow Pear Dessert ~ 桂花炖雪梨

 

 

 

 I learn about this dessert on my recent trip to HongKong. me and my husband fell in love with it right away, however we felt sad that we may not be able to drink it again when we were back in Singapore. Therefore I went to buy Osmanthus flower or the proper name Osmanthus fragrans at the Hong Kong dried ingredient shops and hopefully I will be able to make the similar dessert for my Boss when I am back.

Understand from the local that snow pear is good for lungs and it provides healing effect to cough and phlegm. Its especially good for those who always sleep late and drink very little water as it nourishes the lungs and the body. And traditional Chinese medicine claims that osmanthus improves complexion and helps rid the body of excess nitric oxide, a compound linked to the formation of cancer, diabetes, and renal disease.

In conclusion this dessert is good for our throat and lungs and most important for our complexion.

This is a very simple dessert and especially suitable for lazy people like me. Most importantly it looks so yummy and luxurious but your guests will never know it can be done so easily.With only 3 ingredients and double boil it for one hour and its DONE.

Ingredients:
2pcs Snow Pear
1tsp Dried Osmanthus Flower (桂花）
2tbsp Rock sugar
4-5 cups of hot water
Optional (red dates and dried longan)

Directions:
1. Peel and core the pears as below.
I used fruit shaper which I bought from Daiso to dig out the core of the pear from below.

 

 
2. Place all of the ingredients, including the rock sugar, inside a soup terrine and fill it with water to the top. I don’t have a Chinese soup terrine, so I used a very thick oven safe bowl.

3. Using a medium to large sized pot, place a metal rack on the bottom and fill it with enough water so that the level is just underneath the surface of the metal rack.

4. Put a lid on your soup terrine or in my case aluminium foil and place your terrine inside the large pot. Once the water boils, turn it down to low so that it simmers gently. Check the water levels every half an hour or sooner, and replenish with boiling water as necessary.

5. Double boil for 1 hour (or until the pear is soft) and its ready to serve. You can choose to drink it hot or chilled but I belive hot will be better especially in cold winter.

If you want to read more about Osmanthus Flower--> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmanthus>