Easy traditional dessert recipes in Singapore

As much as rainbow cakes and ice cream waffles dominate our social media feeds, nothing beats the old-school charm and nostalgia-inducing tastes of traditional kopitiam desserts. 

These dishes usually take ages of sustained boiling and breaking down of ingredients to extract the flavours, but we experimented with NutriWell’s certified Healthier Choice fresh brews to create them in a fraction of the time!

Save time and hassle with these secret weapons that are brewed from all-natural ingredients to give your desserts a robust base, while being lower in sugar and dense in nutrients. 

1. Papaya and Snow Fungus Soup

Besides being a delight to slurp up and munch on due to its various textures, the nourishing ingredients in this dessert will have you looking AND feeling fresh. Chewy snow fungus and juicy papaya are both lauded for having benefits to health as well as beauty. 

Snow fungus will dispel heatiness from your system while soothing coughs and sore throats. Meanwhile, papaya is packed with vitamins C, E and antioxidants galore that will do wonders for your complexion.

Our concoction is made with NutriWell’s Snow Fungus with Wolfberry drink, providing an added burst of wolfberry – a.k.a goji berry – nutrients and amino acids. 

Yield: Serves 4
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1L NutriWell Snow Fungus with Wolfberry
15g white fungus
150g ripe papaya, cubed 

Steps:

1. Soak snow fungus in hot water for 10 minutes to soften. Use scissors to trim them into bite-sized pieces.
2. In a saucepan on medium heat, bring the NutriWell Snow Fungus with Wolfberry to boil. 
3. Lower the heat and add the trimmed snow fungus and papaya cubes. 
4. Cook for 5 minutes or until all the ingredients are slightly softened. 
5. Serve warm or cold, depending on preference.

2. Egg Flower Water Chestnut Soup

This one features some showmanship that will make for #aesthetic Boomerangs. Delicate ribbons of egg dance around in a soup that consists of NutriWell’s Water Chestnut with Sugar Cane drink. 

Naturally sweetened by water chestnuts and sugar cane, you’ll be able to reap nutrients like fibre, vitamin B6 and zinc that plain ol’ sugar simply does not have. The result is a refreshing but not-too-sweet dessert with hints of creaminess from the egg flower in each mouthful. 

Yield: Serves 8
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1L NutriWell Water Chestnut with Sugar Cane
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water 

Steps:

1. In a saucepan on low heat, bring the NutriWell Water Chestnut with Sugar Cane to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. 
2. Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl to form a slurry. Add the slurry to the Water Chestnut and Sugar Cane drink and stir until the liquid is thick. This should take around half a minute or so. 
3. Drizzle the beaten egg slowly into the chestnut and sugar cane mixture. Do not stir for the first 20 seconds, allowing the egg ribbons to form.
4. Serve immediately. 

3. Chrysanthemum Longan Jelly

These jiggly blobs are soft, slippery and ultra refreshing when served chilled. The intoxicating floral aroma of NutriWell’s Chrysanthemum with Wolfberry drink made this a massive hit among both young and old. I was personally taken aback by how addictive it was – you can’t stop at just one!

Popping a luscious longan in each mould gives the jelly an unexpected combo of textures. Because the low-sugar chrysanthemum beverage is on the mellower side, the burst of longan juices also provides a saccharine surprise. 

Yield: Serves 20 Jellies
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
625ml NutriWell Chrysanthemum with Wolfberry
140g longan in syrup
125g konnyaku jelly powder 

Steps:

1. In a saucepan on medium heat, bring the NutriWell Chrysanthemum with Wolfberry and konnyaku jelly powder to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to low and stir gradually for 3-5 minutes. 
3. Pour the konnyaku mixture into jelly moulds and add a longan to each.
4. Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.

4. Green Bean Soup

Green bean soup is an age-old favourite known for being able to rid the body of toxins while giving a cooling effect. Basically, it’s a remedy to combat heatiness brought on by binging fast food and tidbits. 

Plus, I personally love that you can control how soft and mushy or firm to the bite you want it to be, depending on how long you boil it for. 

Unlike traditional green bean soups which contain cooked barley grains, we made a life-hacked version with NutriWell’s Barley drink, which provided added flavour as well as a potent dose of nutrients to this quick and easy dessert.

On top of being a good source of fiber, potassium and folate, barley also helps to decrease cholesterol levels in the blood and reduce the chances of heart disease as a result. 

Throw in some knotted pandan leaves for additional fragrance, au naturel.

Yield: Serves 4
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1L NutriWell Barley
250g green beans, soaked overnight or for at least 2 hours
3 pandan leaves, rinsed and tied in a bunch

Steps:

1. In a saucepan on medium heat, bring the NutriWell Barley to boil. 
2. Lower the heat before adding the green beans and pandan leaves.
3. Cook for 35 minutes or until the green beans are softened. 
4. If you prefer a thicker consistency, cook the green beans for a longer period of time. 
5. Serve warm or cold, depending on preference.

5. Cheng Tng

Cheng Tng literally translates to “light soup”, which sums up this light and simple dessert often loaded with a medley of different toppings. I’m a big fan of customisability, so being able to control how much I want to spam my favourite ingredients and omit those that I can’t stand is a big plus point. 

A cheng tng is only as delicious as its base, so we’re loading ours up with NutriWell’s Snow Fungus with Wolfberry drink once again to achieve the ideal balance of floral, woody and subtly sweet. 

We went with longans, red dates, snow fungus and gingko nuts. Feel free to experiment with your fave toppings!

Yield: Serves 8
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1L NutriWell Snow Fungus with Wolfberry
30g snow fungus
50g canned longan
50g gingko nuts
10 pieces red dates 

Steps:

1. Soak snow fungus and gingko nuts in hot water for 10 minutes to soften. Use scissors to trim snow fungus to bite-sized pieces. 
2. In a saucepan on medium heat, bring the NutriWell Snow Fungus with Wolfberry drink to boil. 
3. Lower the heat and add the canned longans, gingko nuts, red dates, and trimmed snow fungus. 
4. Cook for 30 minutes or until all the ingredients are soft. 
5. Serve warm or cold, depending on preference.

NutriWell pasteurised Asian brews

Make your loved ones proud with these quick and simple concoctions that’ll warm their belly just as much as their soul. 

Creating these delectable desserts becomes effortless thanks to an arsenal of NutriWell’s quality brewed drinks. Take it from me, somebody with zero culinary experience whose “signature specialty” is nothing more than instant noodles. 

The taste of NutriWell’s beverages is reminiscent of homemade brews Ah Ma used to make, now made available without having to toil for hours over the stove. 

Available in both 1-litre and 475ml packs, they’re ideal for sharing with the fam or as refreshments on-the-go. They’re also 25% lower in sugar and contain zero added preservatives or colourings, meaning there’ll be no nasties entering your system.  

For a healthier choice that does a brilliant job of quenching your thirst and beating Singapore’s sweltering heat, pick up some of NutriWell’s traditional brews conveniently sold all around the island at supermarkets and convenience stores for $1.50 each for 475ml packs and $2.25 each for 1-litre packs. Get two 1-litre packs at one go for $3.75!

Find out more about NutriWell here

This post was brought to you by F&N NutriWell.
Photography by Pepita Hope Wauran, recipes by Suphon Liao.