✔ Updated · 50 desserts grouped by country, with key ingredients
Asian desserts tend to be lighter and less sugary than many Western sweets, and they lean on ingredients like glutinous rice, coconut milk, red bean paste, matcha, black sesame, mango and condensed milk. Mango sticky rice is the one I order every single time.
Popular Asian desserts include mochi and mochi ice cream, Japanese purin (custard pudding), castella cake, Chinese egg tarts, mango pudding, tang yuan rice balls, Korean bingsu and hotteok, Thai mango sticky rice, Filipino halo-halo and Indian kulfi and gulab jamun. Many are built on glutinous rice, coconut milk, red bean paste, matcha or fresh tropical fruit, and most are easy to make at home.
Textures matter as much as flavor: chewy mochi, silky puddings, flaky egg tarts and fluffy shaved ice. Below are 50 popular Asian desserts grouped by country, from Japanese castella and mochi ice cream to Chinese egg tarts, Korean bingsu, Thai mango sticky rice and Indian kulfi, plus the key ingredients to stock and the easiest ones to make at home.
Japanese Desserts
Japanese sweets (wagashi and Western-influenced yogashi) are known for delicate sweetness, soft textures and flavors like matcha, red bean and honey.
1. Castella Cake
A fine, springy honey sponge cake made with just eggs, sugar, bread flour and honey, brought to Nagasaki by Portuguese traders centuries ago.
2. Purin (Japanese Custard Pudding)
A smooth baked or steamed egg custard with a bittersweet caramel top, similar to flan and sold everywhere from cafes to convenience stores.
3. Mochi Ice Cream
Balls of ice cream wrapped in a thin, chewy layer of sweet rice-flour dough. Classic flavors include matcha, strawberry, mango and vanilla.
4. Dorayaki
Two small, fluffy honey pancakes sandwiched around a sweet red bean paste filling. An easy, portable snack that kids love.
5. Matcha Green Tea Cookies
Buttery shortbread-style cookies colored bright green with matcha powder, with a gentle, slightly bitter tea flavor that balances the sweetness.
6. Japanese Butter Cookies
Rich, crisp piped cookies made from butter, sugar, egg and flour, often finished with a dot of jam or a sprinkle of matcha.
7. Japanese Cheesecake
A jiggly, cloud-like cheesecake made with whipped egg whites and baked in a water bath, lighter than New York cheesecake.
8. Taiyaki
Fish-shaped Japanese waffle cakes filled with red bean paste, custard or chocolate, sold hot from street stalls.
9. Dango
Small, chewy rice dumplings threaded on skewers and glazed with a sweet soy sauce syrup or served in pastel colors.
10. Daifuku
Soft, chewy rounds of mochi wrapped around sweet red bean paste; ichigo daifuku hides a whole fresh strawberry inside.
11. Anmitsu
A chilled bowl of agar jelly cubes with sweet red bean paste, fruit and small rice dumplings, finished with black sugar syrup.
12. Hawaiian Butter Mochi
A chewy, golden baked cake of glutinous rice flour, coconut milk, butter and eggs, with Japanese and Hawaiian roots.
Get the recipe →
13. Mochi Donuts
Ring-shaped donuts made with glutinous rice flour for a bouncy, chewy bite, glazed in matcha, ube or strawberry.
Get the recipe →Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese Desserts
Chinese desserts are often served warm or chilled rather than baked, and many are eaten at festivals like Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival. See our full list of Chinese desserts for more.
14. Egg Tarts (Dan Tat)
Flaky or shortcrust pastry shells filled with a silky, lightly sweet egg custard and baked until just set, a dim sum and Hong Kong bakery classic.
15. Mango Pudding
A chilled pudding of pureed mango, milk, cream, sugar and gelatin, set in cups and often topped with fresh mango and evaporated milk.
16. Almond Float (Almond Jelly)
Cubes of milky almond-flavored jelly served in a cool, sweet syrup with fruit cocktail or fresh fruit. Very easy and refreshing.
17. Black Sesame Soup
A warm, smooth, nutty-sweet soup made from toasted black sesame seeds and rice, thickened until velvety and served in small bowls.
18. Tang Yuan
Chewy glutinous rice balls, plain or filled with black sesame or peanut paste, served in warm ginger syrup for the Lantern Festival and winter solstice.
19. Chinese Almond Cookies
Crumbly, buttery cookies flavored with almond extract and topped with a whole almond, traditionally given for good luck at Lunar New Year.
20. Jian Dui (Sesame Balls)
Fried glutinous rice balls coated in sesame seeds and filled with sweet red bean paste, crisp outside and chewy within.
21. Ma Lai Gao (Steamed Sponge Cake)
A light, fluffy steamed brown sugar sponge cake from Cantonese dim sum, moist because it never bakes dry.
22. Chinese Nougat
Chewy milk nougat studded with roasted peanuts or almonds, a popular homemade Lunar New Year gift.
23. Black Sesame Cookies
Nutty, crisp cookies made with toasted black sesame seeds, with a deep, almost savory flavor.
24. Mooncakes
Rich Mid-Autumn Festival pastries pressed in decorative molds and filled with lotus seed or red bean paste, sometimes around a salted egg yolk.
25. Hong Kong Egg Waffles (Gai Daan Jai)
A street-stall waffle cooked in a bubble-shaped pan, so each sweet egg-batter puff is crisp outside and soft and cakey inside.
26. Mango Sago
A chilled Hong Kong dessert soup of pureed mango, coconut milk and chewy sago pearls, often topped with pomelo and fresh mango.
27. Taiwanese Pineapple Cakes
Small, buttery shortbread pastries filled with sticky pineapple jam; a favorite gift from Taiwan.
Korean Desserts
Korean sweets range from traditional rice cakes (tteok) and tea cookies to modern shaved-ice cafes and street-food pancakes.
28. Injeolmi (Korean Sweet Rice Cake)
Soft, chewy rice cakes coated in roasted soybean powder. They can be made quickly in the microwave with glutinous rice flour.
29. Bingsu
A mountain of fluffy, milky shaved ice topped with sweet red beans, fresh fruit, condensed milk, rice cakes or ice cream.
30. Hotteok
Chewy, pan-fried yeasted pancakes filled with a molten brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped nut syrup. A favorite winter street snack.
31. Baesuk (Korean Steamed Pears)
Asian pears hollowed out, filled with honey, jujubes and peppercorns or ginger, then steamed until tender and fragrant. Served warm.
32. Dasik (Korean Tea Cookies)
No-bake pressed cookies made from toasted sesame seeds, nut or grain powders and honey, shaped in decorative molds and served with tea.
33. Yakgwa (Korean Honey Cookies)
Flower-shaped cookies of flour, sesame oil and honey, slowly fried and soaked in a ginger-honey syrup until glossy and moist.
34. Songpyeon
Half-moon rice cakes filled with sweet sesame and honey, chestnut or beans, steamed on pine needles for the Chuseok harvest festival.
35. Kkwabaegi (Korean Twisted Donuts)
Soft, yeasted twisted donuts fried until golden and rolled in cinnamon sugar; a popular bakery and street snack.
Southeast Asian Desserts
Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese and Indonesian desserts make generous use of coconut, pandan, sticky rice and tropical fruit. For more from the Philippines, see our Filipino desserts list.
36. Mango Sticky Rice
Thai glutinous rice steamed and soaked in sweet, salty coconut milk, served with ripe mango slices and extra coconut sauce.
37. Banana Fritters (Pisang Goreng)
Ripe bananas dipped in a light, crisp batter and fried until golden. Popular across Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.
38. Halo-Halo
The Philippines' famous shaved-ice dessert layered with sweet beans, jellies, fruit, leche flan, ube halaya, evaporated milk and ice cream.
39. Che Ba Mau (Vietnamese Three-Color Dessert)
A layered drink-dessert of sweet mung bean, red beans and green pandan jelly topped with coconut milk and crushed ice.
40. Cendol
Green pandan rice-flour jelly in chilled coconut milk with palm sugar syrup and shaved ice, popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
41. Klepon
Indonesian pandan-green glutinous rice balls filled with palm sugar that melts as they boil, then rolled in fresh grated coconut.
42. Ube Halaya
A thick, vivid purple Filipino jam of grated purple yam cooked with coconut milk, condensed milk and butter; eaten alone or in halo-halo.
South Asian Desserts
Indian and Nepali sweets (mithai) often feature milk reduced until rich, cardamom, saffron, ghee and nuts.
43. Kulfi
Dense, creamy frozen dessert made from slowly reduced milk or condensed milk, flavored with cardamom, saffron and pistachio and frozen in molds.
44. Gulab Jamun
Soft fried dough balls made from milk solids, soaked in warm rose and cardamom sugar syrup. A must at Diwali and weddings.
45. Modak
Steamed rice-flour dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery and spiced with cardamom, made especially for the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
46. Khaja
Crisp, flaky layered pastries fried and dipped in sugar syrup, popular in eastern India and Nepal and simpler to make than they look.
47. Kheer
Indian rice pudding slowly simmered in milk with sugar, cardamom, saffron and nuts, served warm or chilled.
48. Rasgulla
Spongy balls of fresh chhena cheese cooked in light sugar syrup, a classic sweet of Odisha and West Bengal served chilled.
49. Jalebi
Bright spirals of lightly fermented batter fried until crisp, then soaked in saffron and cardamom sugar syrup. Best eaten warm.
50. Gajar Ka Halwa (Carrot Halwa)
Grated carrots slowly cooked in milk with sugar, ghee and cardamom, finished with nuts; a favorite winter dessert in North India.
Common Ingredients in Asian Desserts
Most of these can be found in Asian grocery stores, larger supermarkets or online. Many keep for months in the pantry.
| Ingredient | What it is | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Glutinous (sweet) rice flour | Flour from sticky rice; chewy when cooked. Not interchangeable with regular rice flour. | Mochi, tang yuan, injeolmi, butter mochi, sesame balls |
| Glutinous (sticky) rice | Short, opaque grains that turn sticky when steamed | Mango sticky rice, suman |
| Coconut milk | Rich milk pressed from grated coconut; use full-fat canned | Mango sticky rice, che ba mau, modak |
| Red bean paste (anko) | Adzuki beans cooked with sugar into a smooth or chunky paste | Dorayaki, taiyaki, bingsu, sesame balls |
| Matcha | Finely ground green tea powder | Matcha cookies, mochi ice cream, cakes |
| Black sesame seeds | Toasted for a deep, nutty flavor | Black sesame soup, tang yuan filling, cookies |
| Sweetened condensed milk | Cooked-down sweetened milk | Kulfi, bingsu, halo-halo, Vietnamese coffee |
| Pandan | Fragrant leaf (or extract) with a grassy-vanilla flavor | Che ba mau, Southeast Asian cakes and jellies |
| Cardamom and saffron | Warm, floral spices | Kulfi, gulab jamun, kheer, modak |
Easiest Asian Desserts to Make at Home
These need little more than a regular supermarket shop and basic equipment:
- Mango pudding: mango, milk, cream, sugar and gelatin, chilled for a few hours. It’s my go-to whenever mangoes are on sale. Use very ripe mangoes; see how to ripen a mango.
- Banana fritters: ripe bananas, flour, sugar and oil, ready in about 15 minutes.
- Almond float: milk, sugar, gelatin and almond extract, cubed and served with canned fruit.
- Chinese almond cookies: pantry baking ingredients plus almond extract and whole almonds.
- Microwave injeolmi: glutinous rice flour, water and sugar, cooked in the microwave and coated in soybean or peanut powder.
- Kulfi: condensed milk, evaporated milk and cream with cardamom and pistachios, frozen in small cups. No churning needed.
More Desserts From Around the World
Explore more sweets with our lists of Chinese desserts, Filipino desserts, French desserts and easy desserts, or browse our Japanese recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular Asian dessert?
There's no single answer because Asia covers so many cuisines, but mochi, mango sticky rice, egg tarts and bingsu are among the best known worldwide. In their home countries, halo-halo (Philippines), gulab jamun (India), purin (Japan) and tang yuan (China) are hugely popular.
Why are Asian desserts less sweet?
Many traditional Asian desserts use less sugar and rely on natural sweetness from fruit, red beans, coconut or rice, along with textures like chewy, silky or icy. Flavors such as matcha and black sesame add a slight bitterness or nuttiness that balances the sugar.
What are some easy Asian desserts to make at home?
Mango pudding, banana fritters, almond float, Chinese almond cookies, microwave injeolmi and no-churn kulfi are all easy. They use mostly supermarket ingredients and basic equipment. Glutinous rice flour is the one specialty item worth buying, since it's needed for mochi and many rice cakes. I always keep a bag in my pantry.
What is mochi made of?
Mochi is made from glutinous rice, either pounded steamed rice or a dough of glutinous rice flour, water and sugar. It's cooked until stretchy and chewy, then shaped around fillings like red bean paste or ice cream. Despite the name, glutinous rice contains no gluten.
Are mochi and rice cakes safe for everyone to eat?
Mochi and other chewy rice cakes can be a choking hazard, especially for young children and older adults. Cut them into small pieces, take small bites and chew thoroughly. Eat them while sitting down and keep water nearby.
