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Black sesame soup is a variety of Chinese dessert soup (or tong sui), commonly served after meals, as a mid afternoon snack and, of course, with dim sum. It’s a sweet, smooth and luscious soup with a rich toasted sesame taste that’s particularly popular in Hong Kong and southern China.
For a dessert that’s so elegant, black sesame soup is surprisingly easy to make, requiring only a handful of ingredients that are commonly available at a Chinatown grocer.
A warm bowl of black sesame soup instantly transports me to the narrow, winding back streets of Sheung Wan in Hong Kong, where you’ll still find small restaurants making these traditional desserts. It’s wonderful that you can make such a faithful version in the comfort of your own home.
Here’s how to make black sesame soup, step-by-step. The detailed tutorial with pictures is at the bottom of the page.
Can you share any expert tips from your experience making black sesame soup? Want to ask a question before you try making it yourself? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!
Black Sesame Soup Recipe
Makes: 4-6 Servings | Prep Time: 60 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Adapted From: Awesomesauce Eats
Ingredients
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup black sesame seeds
7 cups water
6 ounces Chinese rock sugar (or 1 cup granulated sugar)
Additional boiling water, as needed
Directions
1. Soak the rice in cold water for at least an hour, up to 4 hours if you have the time.
2. Toast the black sesame seeds on low heat for 2 minutes in a wok, until they are fragrant. Set aside to cool.
3. Drain the rice and combine in a blender with 3 cups of water. Blend until completely smooth, then pour into a bowl and rinse out the blender.
4. Grind the black sesame seeds in the blender until smooth, then add 1/2 cup of water and blend briefly until you have a smooth paste.
5. Combine the rice mixture and black sesame paste in the blender and blend until combined.
6. Pour the soup mixture into a large pot, add 3 1/2 cups of water and up to six ounces of sugar to taste, then bring to a boil.
7. Once the soup boils, reduce the heat to low and then simmer for an additional 10 minutes until the soup thickens. Stir constantly.
8. Pour the soup into small bowls and serve warm.
Step-By-Step Tutorial
Start by gathering your ingredients. It’s a short list! Just black sesame seeds, long grain rice and Chinese rock sugar.
The key ingredient in this recipe is the Chinese rock sugar. It gives the soup a distinct sweetness and the sheen that you’ll recognize from the restaurant. Substitute granulated sugar only if you must.
The rock sugar comes in big crystal lumps, which makes it difficult to measure in cups. Instead, weigh your sugar using a kitchen scale. You’re shooting for 6 ounces.
Soak the rice in cold water for at least an hour, up to 4 hours if you have the time.
Toast the black sesame seeds on low heat for 2 minutes in a wok, until they are fragrant. Set aside to cool.
Drain the rice and combine in a blender with 3 cups of water. Blend until completely smooth, then pour into a bowl and rinse out the blender. It’s really important to get this slurry mixture as smooth as you can!
Grind the black sesame seeds in the blender until smooth, then add 1/2 cup of water and blend briefly until you have a smooth paste. Again, it’s very important to make this paste as smooth as possible. Lumps and grittiness will be difficult to remove later in the cooking process.
Combine the rice mixture and black sesame paste in the blender and blend until combined.
Pour the soup mixture into a large pot, add 3 1/2 cups of water and up to six ounces of sugar to taste, then bring to a boil.
Once the soup boils, reduce the heat to low and then simmer for an additional 10 minutes until the soup thickens. Stir constantly.
Here’s the last trick. You’re shooting for a silky soup with the viscosity of honey. Add additional boiling water to the soup and blend once more with a hand blender until you get that consistency.
Pour the soup into small bowls and serve warm.
Learn more about Black Sesame Soup from these Experts
Watch Miss Wong’s Kitchen make Black Sesame Soup in her home kitchen (VIDEO)
Jessie Cooking Moments makes Black Sesame Soup for her inlaws in Australia
OpenRice shares a simple Black Sesame Soup Recipe
HT: Photo by Tong Pak Fu.
Keith Bond
I just returned from Kaiping China where I tried this for the first time. I had it twice from 2 different vendors. One seemed to me to have a subtle hint of ginger in it. Is this just my imagination or will some people add other ingredients such as ginger? As I’ve looked online, all recipes seed to be very similar to this one, and I can’t find anything to suggest that ginger might be an additional ingredient.
Dim Sum Central
Hi Keith, thanks for sharing your experience! This is definitely one of those comfort foods that have many regional variations, family secrets, etc. It wouldn’t surprise me if your vendor added a bit of ginger to add a further warming sensation to the soup. Dessert soups come in many different forms like red bean, sesame and walnut. There are ginger soups, too, of course, but you get the sense that many of these core ingredients can be mixed and matched. ~Wes
Edward M
Rock sugar is simply sugar! There is no difference, it’s all in your overly sweetened noggin’. 🙂 Think about it; regular “white sugar” is still a collection of very tiny sugar crystals, no different than the giant sugar crystals produced in rock sugar. I lived in China several years, am very familiar with being served rock sugar as my sweetener for tea and other food stuff.
Dim Sum Central
Haha, thanks for your comment, Edward. I hear where you’re coming from, but there’s something about the Chinese rock sugar that gives the soup a certain flavor and texture. Can’t tell you exactly how, but I definitely notice when it’s missing. ~Wes
MT
Seems like that Chinese Rock Sugar is made from sugar cane, while regular sugar is from beetroots… 🙂
Dim Sum Central
That makes a lot of sense, MT. Thanks for sharing your insight!
kay
Just made my first batch and came out perfectly! Super excited. Thanks!
Dim Sum Central
Really happy to hear that, Kay. Thanks for sharing! ~Wes
Beni
Hi! Many thanks for your wonderful recipes. I tried this black sesame tong shui in Hong Kong and instantly fell in love with it. About the black sesame seeds, I know that roasting them yourself would provide the best flavor, but I don’t have a large, good quality mixer and I was thinking of using the pure black sesame cream that’s available in grocery stores here in Tokyo. Do you know approximately how much I should use for this recipe? Thank you!
Dim Sum Central
Hi Beni, I’m sorry that I’m not familiar with the black sesame cream, and I’d hate to give you bad advice. One easy way to grind the black sesame seeds without a mixer is to put them in a plastic bag and then roll them with a standard rolling pin. That’s my favorite low-tech trick — works great! ~Wes
Ray B
I know this is a pretty old comment, but wanted to throw this out there:
Using a 16 oz. container of DiPasa black sesame paste (which is actually rather thin and not as much a “paste”), adding about 8-10 oz of rock sugar, and about 5-6 cups of water, boiled and then simmered, works pretty well!
Dim Sum Central
That’s a great shortcut, Ray. Thanks for adding your suggestion! ~Wes
Lee
Alternatively, use a mortar & pestle to grind the dry ingredients & for a silky texture sieve thru for lumps.
Dim Sum Central
Great tip, thanks, Lee! ~Wes
Bunny Peters
Would palm sugar be ok to use? It has a “caramel” taste……
Also, can one make this recipe with white sesame seeds and serve a bowl of soup with both soups swirled together?
Please advise.
Thank you very much,
Bunny
Wes Radez
Hi Bunny, I’ve seen white and black seeds mixed to produce an interesting visual effect, though I’ve never done it myself. Give it a try and let me know! Same goes for the palm sugar substitution. ~Wes
Nightjade
Hi I’m diabetic and sugar is not a option, have you tried making it with xylitol ( beech tree ) or stevia?. How did the flavors of this difference compare to the recipe using Chinese rock sugar.
Wes Radez
Not yet! Please give it a try and let us know how it turns out! ~Wes