Rock sugar
Large crystals of refined cane sugar, sold as clear single crystals (單晶冰糖) or amber multi-crystal lumps (黃冰糖). It dissolves into sweet soups and double-steamed desserts with a cleaner, less cloying sweetness than white sugar, giving tong sui a glossy body; it goes in near the end of cooking. Ginger pots (sweet potato soup, ginger syrup) take slab sugar instead.
TCM properties
Nature · neutral Flavour · sweet Meridians · spleen、lung
Traditional food therapy
In Cantonese food therapy rock sugar is used to moisten the lungs, generate fluids and harmonise the middle, the customary sweetener for pear or snow fungus tong sui.
Cautions: read first
- People with diabetes should watch how much they take.
- When double-boiling bird's nest, add it only in the last 5 minutes; going in early makes the bird's nest melt away to water.
Preparation
Break it into small pieces; add it near the end of a double-boiled dish (燉品) and stir until it dissolves.
Origin
The cane-growing provinces of southern China; the yellow rock sugar of Yunnan is well known. AU Asian grocers stock Chinese-brand packs
Availability in Australia
Easy to find
