Peach Gum Dessert Soup (桃胶羹): The Amber Jelly Dessert, Made at Home
If you've scrolled past a bowl of glistening, amber, jelly-like cubes floating in a clear sweet soup and wondered what on earth it was — this is it. Peach gum (桃胶, táo jiāo) has become a bit of a social-media darling, and for good reason: once soaked and simmered, it turns into soft, wobbly, translucent nuggets with a lovely gentle bounce, suspended in a light, barely-sweet soup. It looks like something far fussier than it is.
Peach gum is exactly what it sounds like — the dried resin that seeps from peach tree bark, collected and sold in hard amber crystals. On its own it has almost no flavor; its whole appeal is texture. That makes it a perfect canvas for a simple sweet soup, usually alongside snow fungus and red dates.
There's really only one thing you need to get right, and it happens the night before you cook.
The key step: soaking (start the night before)
Dried peach gum is rock-hard, and it needs a long soak to bloom into those soft, jelly-like pieces. This is the step that makes or breaks the dessert:
- Soak it long and cold. Rinse the peach gum, then soak it in plenty of cool water for at least 8–12 hours, or overnight. It expands a lot — often several times its dry size — so use a big bowl and plenty of water.
- Pick out the impurities. This is the part most first-timers miss. As peach gum soaks and softens, you'll see little dark bits, specks of bark, or hard cloudy cores. Pull these out and discard them — they don't soften and they're not pleasant to eat. Good, cleaned peach gum should look clear and amber.
- Rinse well before cooking.
Skip or rush the soak and you'll get hard, gritty pieces. Do it properly and they turn silky and bouncy. Plan ahead — this isn't a same-hour dessert.
Ingredients
Makes about 4 servings
- 15–20g dried peach gum (桃胶), soaked overnight (see above)
- ½ a dried snow fungus (银耳), soaked and torn (optional but classic)
- 5–6 dried red dates (红枣)
- 40–50g rock sugar (冰糖), to taste
- 1–2 tablespoons goji berries (枸杞)
- About 1.2–1.5 liters (5–6 cups) water
How to make it
1. Prep the day before. Soak the peach gum overnight and clean it as described above. If using snow fungus, soak it too (20–30 min), trim the firm base, and tear into small pieces.
2. Simmer the base. Add the snow fungus, red dates, and water to a pot. Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer for about 30 minutes, until the snow fungus starts to soften and turn silky.
3. Add the peach gum. Add the cleaned, soaked peach gum and simmer another 20–30 minutes, until everything is soft, translucent, and the soup has thickened slightly.
4. Sweeten and finish. Stir in the rock sugar until dissolved. Add the rinsed goji berries in the last 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the sweetness.
5. Serve warm or chilled. Lovely hot, but especially pretty served cold in summer, where the amber pieces really show off in a glass.
Tips
- Don't skip cleaning the peach gum. The dark bits and hard cores won't soften — take a few minutes to pick them out after soaking.
- It expands a lot. A little dried peach gum goes a long way; 15–20g dry becomes a generous amount once soaked.
- Pair it up. Snow fungus, red dates, and goji are the classic companions, but peach gum is happy in most sweet soups where you want extra silky texture.
- Serve it cold to show it off. In a clear glass over ice, the translucent amber pieces are what make this dessert so photogenic.
Building your sweet soup pantry
Peach gum is a fun one to keep in the cupboard once you've tried it. If you're stocking a Chinese sweet-soup pantry, the Pantry page has the ingredients and tools I use and recommend.
It pairs beautifully with snow fungus, so if you liked this, try the chilled snow fungus soup with pear next. For more chilled options, there's mango sago and red bean soup over ice.
New sweet soup recipes land here every week — subscribe below to cook along.
