Traditional Winter Snacks in Beijing

Winter is here and so it’s the time for sweet! Chinese cuisine may not be well known for its desserts, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find anything to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Here are the 5 famous snacks you need to try, especially in winter.

Roasted Sweet Potato 烤地瓜

With cold winds stirring, you can practically smell the smoky and fragrant scent of roasted sweet potatoes on the streets of Beijing!

This traditional winter snack favorite is best eaten by breaking into halves, letting the steam first warm your cheeks before biting on its golden sweetness.

Having a roasted sweet potato in winter is every Chinese’s childhood memory.

The Sugar-Roasted Chestnuts 糖炒栗子

It is the must-have snacks in winter in Beijing.

Cup your hands around a warm bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts from Qiu Li Xiang(秋栗香), a celebrated store in Beijing that lets you savor one of cold weather’s pleasures.

 Candied Haws 冰糖葫芦

One of the most iconic Beijing street snacks, these glistening red morsels (pictured at the top) are traditionally a winter delicacy but can be found all year round.

Literally meaning “rock sugar bottle gourd” (a reference to the shape), this teeth-testing sweet treat features fruit dipped in sugar syrup and threaded onto a long skewer – think of it as a Chinese candy apple.

The most traditional version uses the fruits of the Chinese hawthorn, although nowadays vendors use everything from strawberries to kiwi.

Frozen Persimmon 冻柿子

 

For the real Beijinger, they will wait till the persimmons ripen until very soft and jelly-like and wash the outsides of the persimmons under cool running water and wipe them dry with paper towels.

Then put the persimmons nearby the window and wait till it freezes. After its slurry inside freezes well, but you can also freeze the fruit whole and unpeeled.

Freezing actually heightens their natural sweet flavor. Eaten this way, they are similar to a fresh fruit ice.

Hawthorn Covered with Sugar 冰糖雪球

Hawthorn, a very popular fruit in China. It tastes sour but a bit sweetness and it helps to digest.

In the past, the Beijinger dip hawthorn into half-melted sugar and wait until it cools down, very similar to chocolate fondue.

Above all are the 5 traditional winter snacks in Beijing. Why not try it out this winter? And don’t forget to share with us your favorite one!