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The sweet snow ear dessert (糖水) is a Chinese delicacy cooked with white snow ear fungus (雪耳), lotus (蓮子), lily bulbs (百合) and dried red dates (紅棗) in sweet rock sugar (冰糖) soup. The girls will especially love this dessert as it is claimed to be beneficial for facial beauty because of the ingredients used are highly nutritious.

The white snow ear / snow fungus / silver mushroom is a kind of edible jelly fungus used in Chinese cooking mostly in dessert. It is shaped like a ear or flower and white in color. It has no taste itself but it will absorb the liquid from other ingredients when it is cooked with and take on the taste. The snow fungus contains protein, fat, various amino acids, minerals and glycogen that are great for whitening and maintain one’s beauty.

The red date or jujube is sweet and warm-nature, they are very popular in Chinese cooking to be used in soups, poultry dishes and dessert. The red dates can nourish energy and enrich the blood, great for women to help to replenish after menstruation.

The other ingredient used is lotus seed. It is crunchy in texture and rich with dietary fiber and vitamins. While the lily bulb is starchy in texture more or less like the potato, which is great to reduce internal heat.  All these Chinese herbal ingredients can be easily found in the Asian market, mostly in dried packet form.

I don’t recommend to eat this kind of dessert everyday because it is sweet that can make you fat, but if you can selective use some of these ingredients into your daily cooking, such as porridge or other meat dishes that will help in maintaining your health.

Ingredients:

2 White Snow Ear Fungus (soaked, trimmed the hard yellow part, cut into smaller pieces)
15-20 red dates
1/4 cup dried lily bulbs
1/4 cup dried lotus (seeds removed)
Rock Sugar

Serve: 4 people

Cooking Method:

1. Soak the dried white snow ear fungus for half an hour or till soft to cut. Trim the hardened yellow part on the bottom and cut into smaller pieces. Rinse the other ingredients.
2. Heat up a pot of water and bring to boil.
3. Add the snow ear fungus, dried lily bulbs, dried lotus and red dates, reduce to low heat and cook for one hour or more, until all ingredients are soft and tender.

Add the rock sugar based on sweetness preferred.