Sweet potato and ginger sweet soup (番薯糖水)
One of the simplest Cantonese sweet soups: chunks of sweet potato simmered in a gingery brown-sugar syrup. Warming, cheap and ready in half an hour.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
Method
- 1
Boil the ginger. Bring the water and ginger to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
- 2
Add the sweet potato and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender but not falling apart.
- 3
Sweeten. Add the sugar, stir until it dissolves, and serve warm.
About this dish
番薯糖水 is about as simple as Cantonese desserts get, and the ginger makes it a natural fit for the confinement month. It's a warm, filling snack for a mid-afternoon feed.
Tips
- Choosing sweet potatoes: the orange-fleshed ones in UK supermarkets are sweet and soft, so check them early. Yellow or purple varieties from Asian grocers hold their shape better.
- Mind the sugar. Each bowl has about 10g of added sugar. The NHS recommends adults have no more than 30g of free sugars a day — use less if you're having sweet things often, and talk to your midwife or GP if you had gestational diabetes.
Sources
About these recipes
- These are traditional home recipes, shared for cultural interest. They are not medical or nutritional advice, and we don’t claim any dish treats, prevents or cures anything.
- If you have allergies, gestational diabetes or a special diet, or take any medicines or herbal remedies, check with your midwife, health visitor, GP or pharmacist before changing what you eat.
- Follow UK food-safety advice: cook meat, fish and eggs thoroughly; cool leftovers and get them into the fridge within 1 to 2 hours; eat them within 2 days; and reheat only once, until steaming hot.
- Some recipes contain alcohol, and cooking doesn’t remove all of it. If you’re breastfeeding, read our guide to ginger vinegar and chicken in rice wine first.
Experienced carers cook dishes like these every day of the confinement month, and adjust them to how you’re feeling.
Find a carer →More recipes
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