Quick Answer: What Desserts Go With Chinese food?
Some of the best desserts to go with Chinese food are— Delightful Cakes like Mung Bean Cake, Chocolate Chinese Five-Spice Cake, and others; Puddings like Mango Pudding, Eight Treasure Rice Pudding, Vanilla Soy Milk Pudding, and others; Cookies like Fortune Cookies, Chinese Walnut Cookies, Chinese Sesame Cookies, and others; and Chinese delicacies like Egg Tart, Sesame Seed Balls, Snow Fungus Dessert Soup, Bubble Tea and others. Read to know more!
Here are 30 irresistible desserts that are bound to give you foodgasms when devoured after a hearty Chinese meal.
Each of these desserts has been chosen based on how well they finish off your flavor palate after coloring it with Chinese flavors.
I am guilty of having a sweet tooth and I assure you I am very careful with what I combine my meals with.
With due respect to my indulgence in desserts and Chinese cuisine, I have enumerated in this list the best desserts to go with Chinese food.
So let’s get to it!
Best Chinese Desserts: Quick Table
| Recipe | Calories (per 100g) | Preparation Time |
|---|---|---|
| Egg Tart | 375 | 60 min |
| Sesame Seed Balls | 366 | 30 min |
| Fortune Cookies | 378 | 30 min |
| Mango Pudding | 47 | 15 min |
| Mung Bean Cake | 312 | 60 min |
| Eight Treasure Rice Pudding | 74 | 115 min |
| Chocolate Chinese Five-Spice Cake | 349 | 65 min |
| Snow Fungus Dessert Soup | NA | 45 min |
| Almond Jelly | 70 | 15 min |
| Pineapple Tarts | 409 | 75 min |
| Vanilla Soy Milk Pudding | 92.8 | 140 min |
| Red Bean Cake | 273 | 40 min |
| Bubble Tea | NA | 150 min |
| Fried Milk | 171 | 60 min |
| Almond Cookies | 510 | 20 min |
| Snowflake Cake | NA | 145 min |
| Sachima | 326 | 50 min |
| Chinese Walnut Cookies | 62 | 70 min |
| Pineapple Buns | 314 | 180 min |
| Chinese New Year's Cake | 242 | 90 min |
| Chinese Fried Dough | NA | 530 min |
| Fried Banana Fritters | 230 | 25 min |
| Chinese Sesame Cookies | 332 | 280 min |
| Fa Gao | 203 | 40 min |
| Pineapple Cake | 319 | 70 min |
| Red Bean Popsicles | 100 | 60 min |
| Chinese Egg Cake | 273 | 50 min |
| Chinese Egg Pudding | NA | 45 min |
| Chinese Butter Cookies | 467 | 35 min |
| Chinese Steamed Custard Buns | NA | 249 min |
1. Egg Tart
Total Calories (per 100g): 375
Total Preparation Time: 60 minutes
Egg Tarts are the perfect dessert to end your Chinese-themed meals.
It is a traditional Chinese dessert made of small flaky circular pastries filled with moderately sweetened egg custard.
There are two kinds of egg tarts— one with shortcrust pasty and one with Chinese puff pastry.
Here is an easy recipe by Kirbyyy
2. Sesame Seed Balls
Total Calories (per 100g): 366
Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes
A popular sweet dish at Dim Sum restaurants— Sesame Seed Balls taste like divinity.
It is crafted from a sugar-rice flour dough wrapped around red bean paste and then deep-fried after being coated with sesame seeds.
They have a toasty-nutty sweet flavor with a chewy inside and crispy outside texture pattern.
Check out this recipe by Josephine’s Recipe
3. Fortune Cookies
Total Calories (per 100g): 378
Total Preparation Time: 30 minutes
The message of fortune cookie says ‘This is the perfect dessert for you’.
With basic ingredients like egg white, sugar, melted butter, and flour— fortune cookies have a crispy texture accompanied by a sugary flavor.
Though a bit tricky to make, it’s a fun dessert to serve after a wholesome Chinese meal.
Here is a quick recipe by Sweet Dumpling
4. Mango Pudding
Total Calories (per 100g): 47
Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Mango Pudding is an excellent dessert choice because of its velvety feel and delectable flavors.
Thriving with fresh mango flavor, it is extremely rich and creamy which leaves a lovely mouth-feel. It can be made with coconut milk or evaporated milk.
It is delightful and goes well with Chinese food.
Check out this recipe by Florency Dias
5. Mung Bean Cake
Total Calories (per 100g): 312
Total Preparation Time: 60 minutes
Mung Bean Cakes are adorable in appearance and delicious to bite into.
These cakes are made from green mung beans which are a typical ingredient in Chinese cooking.
They are made in a pretty shaped mould and have an enticing aroma. Plus their melt-in-mouth texture is their USP.
Here is a simple recipe by Kathrine Kwa
6. Eight Treasure Rice Pudding
Total Calories (per 100g): 74
Total Preparation Time: 115 minutes
Eight is an auspicious number in Chinese culture and that’s why this pudding is popular around the Chinese lunar New Year.
Traditionally this recipe contains eight different varieties of dried fruits and is gorgeous in appearance.
Key flavoring ingredients of this beautiful dish are raisins and candied winter melon.
Check out this link for the quick recipe by The Spruce Eats
7. Chocolate Chinese Five-Spice Cake
Total Calories (per 100g): 349
Total Preparation Time: 65 minutes
This chocolate cake will light up your Chinese-themed feast!
It is not a basic chocolate cake— it has a special ingredient called the Chinese five-spice. This spice is a mix of clove, star anise, cinnamon, fennel, and black pepper.
When this spice combines with the rich chocolate, it creates delectable magic!
Here is a link for the easy recipe by Sweet Cs Designs
8. Snow Fungus Dessert Soup
Total Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Tong Sui is a category of warm sweet soups that are served after a hearty Chinese meal. One such soup is Snow Fungus Dessert Soup.
This dessert soup has a sweet and herbal flavor and has a melt-in-mouth texture. It is immensely satisfying and soothing after a heavy meal.
It’s very nourishing and a must-try!
Check out this recipe by CiCi Li—Asian Home Cooking
9. Almond Jelly
Total Calories (per 100g): 70
Total Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Chinese counterpart of Panna Cotta— Almond Jelly is the perfect summer dessert.
Almond Jelly, or Almond Tofu to be precise, is not actually made of common almonds but crafted from sweet apricot seeds.
It has a velvety and smooth texture and is usually served with a topping of mixed fruits.
Here is a quick recipe by Elaine Luo
10. Pineapple Tarts
Total Calories (per 100g): 409
Total Preparation Time: 75 minutes
Pineapple Tarts are traditionally served after a heavy Chinese New Year’s feast.
These are bite-sized pastries filled with pineapple jam or topped with it and have an eye-pleasing yellow color.
Three words that precisely describe their flavor and texture are— melt-in-mouth, crumbly and buttery. Ah! One more word would be addictive.
Check out this recipe by Buttermilk Pantry
11. Vanilla Soy Milk Pudding
Total Calories (per 100g): 92.8
Total Preparation Time: 140 minutes
A vegan sweet delicacy.
Soy milk is used as a thickening agent that makes this creamy dessert healthier than full-fat puddings.
And the classic vanilla flavor never fails to impress!
DIY recipe link-> Vanilla Soy Milk Pudding
12. Red Bean Cake
Total Calories (per 100g): 273
Total Preparation Time: 40 minutes
It has a toasty sesame seed fragrance and gratifying mouth-feel.
The outer covering is crispy and spongy while the filling of red bean paste is sweet and moist and has a gooey texture.
DIY recipe—
13. Bubble Tea
Total Preparation Time: 150 minutes
This trending tea can absolutely be a perfect after meal dessert-drink.
Bubble Tea consists of milk and Tapioca Balls and has a variety of options starting from normal tea flavors to fruity flavors.
DIY recipe—
14. Fried Milk
Total Calories (per 100g): 171
Total Preparation Time: 60 minutes
Fried Milk is a rather innovative dessert idea but is extremely scrumptious.
It has a crispy outer layer and the inner filling is smooth and creamy with a rich and delicate flavor.
DIY recipe–
15. Almond Cookies
Total Calories (per 100g): 510
Total Preparation Time: 20 minutes
After filling your tummy with Kung Pao Chicken or Fried Rice, nothing is more satisfying than a fine cookie.
It has a smooth and crispy texture with the perfect amount of sweetness.
DIY recipe—
16. Snowflake Cake
Total Preparation Time: 145 minutes
Snowflake Cake is the perfect cold dessert that goes great with Chinese cuisine.
The flaky topping gives it a snowflake aesthetic.
It is usually made in fruit flavor but can also have contemporary flavors like peppermint.
DIY recipe link-> Snowflake Cake
17. Sachima
Total Calories (per 100g): 326
Total Preparation Time: 50 minutes
With a resemblance to the American Rice Krispy Treats, this Chinese traditional snack is made from strands of fried batter held together by a sugary syrup.
It has a fluffy texture and a sweet aroma.
DIY recipe—
18. Chinese Walnut Cookies
Total Calories (per 100g): 62
Total Preparation Time: 70 minutes
These are excessively delectable and have a bold walnut flavor.
Chinese Walnut Cookies are flavored from ground walnut and are decorated with a crunchy piece of walnut in the middle.
DIY recipe—
19. Pineapple Buns
Total Calories (per 100g): 314
Total Preparation Time: 180 minutes
Pineapple Buns are a slightly sweet and soft dessert with a crunchy and crumbly golden crust.
This pastry doesn’t contain pineapple but gains its name from its appearance.
DIY recipe—
20. Chinese New Year’s Cake
Total Calories (per 100g): 242
Total Preparation Time: 90 minutes
This wholesome cake is a traditional must during the lunar New Year in Chinese culture.
Made with glutinous rice flour, it is slightly chewy and uses brown sugar for sweetening.
DIY recipe—
21. Chinese Fried Dough
Total Preparation Time: 530 minutes
The Chinese Fried Dough has a stick-like structure and is often served with soy milk.
It is crispy on the outside and has a fluffy and soft texture on the inside.
DIY recipe—
22. Fried Banana Fritters
Total Calories (per 100g): 230
Total Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Chinese Banana Fritters are light of calories and yet sweetly satisfying.
The banana slices are covered in a thin batter and fried until golden brown to create a crispy covering.
DIY recipe—
23. Chinese Sesame Cookies
Total Calories (per 100g): 332
Total Preparation Time: 280 minutes
These cookies are somewhat a cross between the almond cookies and smiling ball cookies.
It has a buttery texture with a hint of crunch and can be made with white or black sesame seeds.
DIY recipe—
24. Fa Gao
Total Calories (per 100g): 203
Total Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Fa Gao is a steamed Chinese cake that is light and fluffy.
With a split top, it gets the appearance of a blossoming flower. It goes great with a Chinese feast.
DIY recipe—
25. Pineapple Cake
Total Calories (per 100g): 319
Total Preparation Time: 70 minutes
Pineapple Cake is popular despite the debatable opinions of its critics.
It has the perfect amount of balanced sweet flavor and is a fluffy plus with a creamy frosting it turns irresistible.
DIY recipe—
26. Red Bean Popsicles
Total Calories (per 100g): 100
Total Preparation Time: 60 minutes
This dessert might seem absurd but, trust me, it’s addictive.
Red Bean Popsicles are immensely creamy with a few bits of beans present inside that give it a chewy texture.
DIY recipe—
27. Chinese Egg Cake
Total Calories (per 100g): 273
Total Preparation Time: 50 minutes
Chinese Egg Cakes, which look like mini muffins, are scrumptiously soft and airy.
Made with the basic ingredients used in a sponge cake, this cake excellently pairs with Chinese dishes.
DIY recipe—
28. Chinese Egg Pudding
Total Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Chinese Egg Pudding has a satisfying silky texture and is mildly sweet.
It endorses the flavors of an egg and has a melt-in-mouth smoothness. It is steamed till it achieves the perfect silkiness.
DIY recipe—
29. Chinese Butter Cookies
Total Calories (per 100g): 467
Total Preparation Time: 35 minutes
If you want to finish your Chinese meal with a simple dessert, then these cookies are perfect for you.
Crafted from basic cookie ingredients, these butter cookies will just melt in your mouth.
DIY recipe—
30. Chinese Steamed Custard Buns
Total Preparation Time: 249 min
This one is a classic dessert that is served after hearty meals at Dim Sum restaurants.
Chinese Steamed Custard Buns have a creamy and fragrant custard filling inside an extremely soft and fluffy bun.
DIY recipe—
The Bottom Line
We hope this wholesome guide gave you a gist of all the desserts that are compatible with Chinese food.
If you have any tips or suggestions, please let us know below.
Do share this guide with your family and friends.