11 Cooling Asian Dessert Recipes To Combat The Hot Weather
Beat the heat with these delish Asian-style desserts, from local faves like cheng tng to unique ones like rojak ice cream
The weather has been a killer recently, and we're perhaps feeling the heat even more than ever (like running back into the cool, air-conditioned environment of the office after the lunch break). Besides trying various hacks to cool down at home without always having to rely on the air-con at home (which can really rack up your utility bills!), you can try making some refreshing Asian desserts to cool down.
Top picks include hawker favourites like cheng tng and sea coconut dessert, but have you heard of rojak ice cream or waterless soup? Keep cool and scroll on with these recipes that you can whip up at home:
This papaya and snow fungus sweet soup is great as a cold dessert. It helps to refresh the body in hot weather and is excellent after eating lots of deep fried foods.
The soup also has benefits for skin beauty. Papaya is an excellent source of vitamin C, A and B-complex, and contains soluble fibre, which helps to prevent constipation.
Watch the video above to learn how to make this sweet and refreshing dessert that's sold at practically every hawker centre dessert stall.
This popular Chinese dessert is nourishing and delicious, and requires only a few main ingredients — namely dried longan, white fungus, red dates and gingko nuts — that you can buy from the supermarket.
This Asian pudding will be a hit with the whole family. The recipe uses sago pearls, but you can substitute with tapioca pearls too.
Ice cream is a quintessential hot-weather food, right? Give it a local twist with this creative take by Chef Pamelia Chia, author of Wet Market to Table: A Modern Approach to Fruit and Vegetables.
Combat our hot weather and relieve heatiness with this ultra-cooling and refreshing Asian dessert that's so easy to make. It's also good for soothing cough and sore throats!
If you are bearing the brunt of the weather, let the heat motivate you to prepare this simple but tasty brew of sugar cane herbal tea which contains dried sugar cane and golden luo han guo (monk fruit).
Counter the hot weather with this easy-to-cook Chinese pear and snow fungus soup that contains sweet, cooling ingredients, such as the sugared tangerines, honey date, red dates and fresh pear.
Instead of the usual plain bubur cha cha, try making this variation with a sweet twist. Adding sweet pumpkin and Indonesian palm sugar lends a unique flavour and a vibrant orange hue. Serve it chilled to beat the heat.
This amazing waterless soup was specially created by Chef Leong Chee Yeng, Chinese Executive Chef of Jade Restaurant, The Fullerton Hotel, as a tribute to Singapore.
Surprise everyone at the end of the meal with this fusion dessert of a tangy strawberry panna cotta topped with fragrant rice pudding. Recipe by Allspice Institute for The Weekly's Domestic Diva Cooking Masterclass.
This article was originally published on April 26, 2023 and updated on May 17, 2025.