Steamed Papaya with Red Dates

Prepare the ingredients

Soak the snow fungus in water until soft, trim off the hard base and cut into bite-sized pieces. Peel and seed the papaya, rinse, drain and cut into bite-sized pieces. Wash the red dates very thoroughly before soaking them until soft, because the soaking water will be used as well.

First, combine the papaya with the red dates and snow fungus.

Next, put 1 litre of water and the rock sugar into a pot and heat until the sugar dissolves (this 1 litre includes the water used to soak the red dates).

Once the rock sugar syrup is ready, add it to the pot with the papaya, snow fungus and red dates.

Then steam the papaya mixture in its syrup in a double boiler for another 15 minutes, and it's done.

When it has finished steaming, take it out. To serve warm, let it cool slightly and enjoy right away; to serve cold, let it cool completely and add ice cubes.

This dish combines the gentle sweetness of rock sugar syrup, the fragrance of papaya and red dates and the pleasant crunch of snow fungus. Served cold it is wonderfully refreshing, served warm it is heart-warming and truly special. So give it a try and discover how good it is.

Happy cooking!