Description
A traditional autumn dessert from Nanjing, Jiangsu. Bite-sized baby taro (Satoimo) is boiled for hours with baking soda (which magically dyes it ruby red). Flavored sweet with brown sugar and 'Osmanthus flower syrup', then thickened into a silky, viscous soup using arrowroot starch.
Restaurants serving Tang Yu Miao (Sweet Taro and Osmanthus Soup)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Baby taro
- Baking soda(edible)
- Brown sugar(or rock sugar)
- Lotus root starch(or potato/arrowroot)
- Tang Gui Hua(Osmanthus syrup)
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe & Differences]
- (Taro Prep) Peel fresh baby taro (Yu Miao) and rub with salt to remove some slime.
- Place the taro in a pot with plenty of water.
- [The Ultimate Magic]: Add a 'tiny pinch of baking soda (Shi Yong Jian)'. The alkaline reacts with the taro's polyphenols; as it boils, the soup and taro magically transform into a 'beautiful ruby red/brown' (the traditional Nanjing secret).
- Simmer on low until the taro is fluffily soft.
- Add brown sugar (or rock sugar) for deep sweetness.
- Stir in a slurry of 'Ou Fen' (Lotus root starch / Arrowroot) to give the entire soup a translucent, 'heavy, viscous thickness'.
- Serve in a bowl, generously topped with 'Tang Gui Hua' (Osmanthus flowers candied in syrup).
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Intense、elegant floral aroma of Osmanthus
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Can make with Japanese taro and brown sugar, but Osmanthus is required)
Pairing
Green Tea / As a standalone snack
Trivia
[Trivia] One of the 'Four Great Street Sweets' of Nanjing. In Japan, Satoimo (taro) is almost exclusively boiled savory with soy/dashi. In China (especially the South), it is treated as a 'premium dessert ingredient' exactly like sweet potatoes or taro.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Eat with a spoon. Crush the fluffy, slightly sticky taro in your mouth along with the warm, thick red soup. The profound floral scent of Osmanthus escaping through your nose signifies the arrival of autumn.
Allergen
None