Peach Gum Dessert Soup (桃胶糖水)

Mum’s Peach Gum Dessert Soup is a sweet treat that’s signature to Cantonese cuisine! It’s light and ultra soothing, which makes it the perfect way to end a family banquet or dinner. The best part? Everything comes together in just 25 minutes.

If you love this, try our hashima version!

Peach Gum Dessert Soup in a bowl with a spoon in it.

A comforting way to finish a meal

At the heart of every Cantonese meal is a good tong sui, and Mum’s Peach Gum Dessert Soup is an easy one to bring to the table!

All you need is a handful of ingredients that you’ll typically find in a Chinese household and you’re ready to go. Dumping everything into a pot and letting it simmer is one of my favorite ways to cook because you can easily just set and forget.

That just means one thing – more YOU time!

But the simplicity doesn’t mean you’ll end up with a bland and boring post-dinner sweet. Instead, it’ll be exactly what the body craves: a light, silky and soothing treat!

All about peach gum

What it is

Peach gum (also known as ‘peach blossom tears’) is a type of hardened resin that’s found on trees that grow peaches. The resin builds up on the bark and eventually solidifies to become the main ingredient we use for this recipe.

In its most natural state, it comes in a range of amber colors. You’d find it sold dried at the shops, where it would be a lightly darker brown because of the impurities that need to be cleaned out prior to use.

Taste

When rehydrated, there is no prominent taste to the ingredient. Much like many Chinese delicacies (think snow fungus, hashima, sea cucumber and fish maw), it will take on the flavor of the seasoning that it’s cooked in.

For this instance, that’d be the sweetness of rock sugar and dried produce added to the tong sui.

It becomes soft and delicate once rehydrated and stays like that as it’s simmered. You’ll also find that it has a springy bite when first cooked.

Health benefits

The resin naturally comes with amino acids to promote collagen production, which is believed to keep the skin looking youthful. It’s also known for its antioxidant and cooling properties.

So if you end up eating a large portion of ‘hot’ food including fried chicken, chips or durian, this tong sui is the way to bring balance back to your body!

Why this recipe works

Using peach gum makes this a vegetarian alternative to having it with hashima.
Only 6 ingredients are needed to make this sweet treat, 3 of which are dried goods that you’d typically find in a Chinese pantry.
This is an easy tong sui because it’s just a matter of adding everything into a pot and simmering until ready.

What you’ll need

Bowls of peach gum and sugar along with dishes of dried longan, red dates and goji berries.

About the ingredients

You can find all of these ingredients dried at Chinese supermarkets. Mum gets her peach gum from Asian vegetarian specialty stores or Chinese medicinal shops.

We used granulated sugar this time because we had run out of rock sugar, but either will work. Just make sure to sweeten to taste.

How to make this recipe

Once the dried resin has been soaked overnight, drain the water out and start picking out the dark impurities found in the resin. We used our hands, but tweezers would also work.

Note: Be gentle as it can break some of the resin apart as you try to remove the impurities.

Bring the water to a boil and add the longan and dried red dates in. Let it cook for 2 minutes to release its sweetness.

Goji berries, longan and red dates in a pot of water.

Pour the dried goji berries in.

A ladle scooping up longan and peach gum over a pot of Peach Gum Dessert Soup.

Straight after, add the rehydrated resin in as well as the sugar.

Once the sugar has melted completely, serve the tong sui hot as is or enjoy it chilled!

Recipe FAQs

What other sweeteners can I use?

It really depends on the type of sweetness you like, but you can switch it up with honey, candied wintermelon [Mum uses this for her Chinese Herbal Tea (涼茶)] or palm sugar. Just keep in mind that they’ll produce slightly different results and the amounts needed will vary.

How long will it keep for?

If refrigerated, it can last up to 3 days. Make sure to keep it in an airtight container and only use clean utensils to take portions out.

Can I freeze this tong sui?

I would recommend freezing the cleaned resin instead. That way, you can simply cook up the sweet syrup with the dried ingredients and add the frozen resin in.

Tips for the best results

Buy good quality peach gum. They’ll be cleaner, which will reduce the amount of labor involved when taking out the impurities.
Be gentle. The rougher you are as you pick out the darker parts, the more the resin will crumb into smaller fragments.
Sweeten a bit at a time. Use smaller rock sugar pieces and add a few in, then taste test once it’s completely melted. If you need more, add a few more and continue the process until it reaches your preferred taste.

Close up of a spoon scooping up Peach Gum Dessert Soup in a bowl.

More sweet soups to nourish your family!

Black Sesame Tang Yuan (黑芝麻汤圆) – Bite into chewy, deliciously fragrant glutinous rice balls. They’re served warm and swimming in a comforting ginger syrup.
Ching Bo Leung (清補涼) – You can find this pre-made and sold in cups at restaurants, but it’s the best when you make it at home because you can be as generous with the ingredients as you like.
Red Bean Dessert Soup (红豆汤) – There’s no tong sui more classic than this to end a banquet! Level up the quality by making it at home.
Black Sesame Soup (芝麻糊) – Nutty and thick, this is the type of sweet soup you’d love to have on a cold Winter’s night.
Sago Soup With Taro (西米露) – One of our most popular dessert recipes, you can’t go wrong with this comforting combo. Also check it out in our video!

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