The Internet is no stranger to no-bake treats. From Oreo cheesecake to homemade ice cream, there are endless recipes to browse through if you’re looking for a dessert that doesn’t require an oven. However, if you’re looking for something more than the run-of-the-mill chocolate chip cookie, plug in your rice cooker, grab a bag of glutinous rice flour, and try your hand at these no-bake Asian desserts.
It’s hard to beat the luscious orh nee tarts sold at the old-school confectionery, June Bakery. But since we’re all stuck at home, you can try your hand at recreating some Orh Nee Tarts of your own, and you won’t even need an oven for one of these no-bake Asian desserts.
Image credit: @fromsavourytosweet
We’ve adapted a traditional orh nee recipe for our tart filling, which typically has a few small yam chunks mixed into the paste. But if you want the paste to be as smooth as the June Bakery version, give the yam filling a good blend in a food processor after mashing it up.
Yield: 24 pieces
Time needed: 1 hour
Ingredients
Tart shells:
85g whole wheat cookies or butter cookies
40g melted butter
Filling:
800g yam, skinned and diced
50ml water
160ml oil
6 shallots, sliced
200g sugar
Gingko nuts, shelled and skinned (optional)
Steps:
Recipe adapted from Kitchen Misadventures’ post.
Image credit: @nanoeater
Muah chee are these chewy, peanut-coated chunks of no-bake Asian desserts, which bring back memories of me as a child roaming the pasar malam. You can satisfy your muah chee cravings and evoke some nostalgia with this easy Rice Cooker Muah Chee recipe at home!
Image credit: @ashjourneywther
If you can’t find peanut powder on your grocery run, make your own peanut powder in a food processor with a 2:1 ratio of peanuts and sugar. For something more fancy, remake the Hougang 6 Miles Famous ‘yin yang’ muah chee by blending toasted black sesame seeds in the same 2:1 ratio to create a fragrant sesame powder.
Yield: Serves 3 to 4
Time needed: 15 minutes
Ingredients
2 cups glutinous rice flour
2 cups water
Cooking spray or oil
1 tsp sesame oil
Toppings
Peanut powder
½ cup black sesame seeds, toasted (optional)
¼ cup sugar (optional)
Steps:
Recipe adapted from Leslie Koh’s post.
Image credit: @suannchia
A good Pandan Chiffon Cake is light, fragrant, and almost dissolves in your mouth as you bite into it. Its delightfully fluffy sponge has a characteristic pale green tinge and a caramelised light brown top. Traditionally, chiffon cakes are baked in an oven, but these no-bake Asian desserts been modified such that the cakes are made entirely in a rice cooker.
Image credit: @ahkat
The key to making a successful chiffon cake is to incorporate as much air as possible, whilst keeping the batter light. You can do this by ensuring that the meringue has been whipped up till soft peaks form, and that little air is knocked out when you fold the batter together.
Yield: Serves 8
Time needed: 40 minutes
Ingredients
Pandan juice:
30g pandan leaves
2 tbsp water
Pandan batter:
40g whole milk
50g trim coconut milk
2 tbsp pandan juice
2 tsp pandan essence
30g condensed milk
20g flavourless oil
140g cake flour
⅛ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
Meringue:
4 egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar
130g fine sugar
4 egg yolks
Steps:
Recipe adapted from My Mind Patch’s blog.
Image credit: @yunak210
A popular sweet snack in Japan is the daifuku mochi, which is filled with a smooth red bean paste. This Tiramisu Mochi recipe marries the flavour of the Italian dessert with the traditional Japanese treat. Every bite-sized piece of these no-bake Asian desserts comes bursting with a creamy cheese filling.
Image credit: @puzzledjane
The cheese filling calls for mascarpone cheese, but if that is not readily available to you, feel free to substitute the mascarpone for 75g of cream cheese and 25g of heavy whipping cream.
This recipe is versatile so you can replace the coffee powder with matcha or even Milo powder!
Yield: 18 pieces
Time needed: 30 minutes
Ingredients
Filling:
100g mascarpone cheese, cold
20g sugar
90g heavy whipping cream
Mochi:
150g glutinous rice flour
90g sugar
½ tsp salt
220g hot water
½ tsp instant coffee powder
Cornstarch
Cocoa powder
Steps:
Recipe adapted from Cooking tree’s video.
Image credit: @tohungrymoments
Adding onto our lineup of glutinous rice balls, this Chinese Fried Sesame Balls are staple no-bake Asian desserts at any Chinese buffet or during CNY gatherings. The balls have a puffed-up, crispy skin and a soft mochi dough. Encased within is a sweet centre, which is most commonly filled with red bean, mung bean, or crushed peanuts.
Image credit: @eatouteveryday
The key to allowing the balls to puff up and stay crispy without burning, is to keep the oil at a medium-low temperature while deep-frying them. Once the mochi balls expand and turn a shade of golden brown, remove them from the oil and serve warm.
Yield: 10 pieces
Time needed: 30 minutes
Ingredients
150g glutinous rice flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
90ml hot water
150g red bean paste
6 tbsp white sesame seeds, toasted
Oil
Steps:
Recipe adapted from Cooking With Dog’s post.
Mango Sticky Rice is practically a staple in any Thai restaurant or eatery you visit. If just like me, you’ve experienced an occasional and inexplicable craving for one of the most classic no-bake Asian desserts, master this recipe and resolve your cravings once and for all.
Image credit: @iiamfodd
The sweetened glutinous rice can be stored in the fridge for up to a week, and you can heat it up in the microwave whenever you’re ready to enjoy it. Mango essentially makes up half of the dish, so be sure to use fresh and ripe mangoes in order to maximise the satisfaction you get from this dessert!
Yield: Serves 4
Time needed: 40 minutes
Ingredients
200g glutinous rice
2 to 3 pandan leaves (optional)
1 cup coconut milk
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 ripe mangoes
Steps:
Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia’s post.
Image credit: @thepennywise
Commonly mistaken for the local hawker mee jiang kueh, this thick, gooey pancake is a popular Indonesian street snack named Martabak Manis. These spongy no-bake Asian desserts are made in a rather unique way. The batter needs to rest for an hour before an additional egg and baking soda mixture is added to give it its characteristic spongy texture.
Image credit: @darlaraylajanim
To prevent burns before the pancake is completely cooked, use a small, non-stick pan. Traditionally, the martabak manis is topped with butter, condensed milk, cheese, and chocolate. But you can get creative with your toppings and use red bean, peanut powder, or even Oreo crumbs for a personalised snack.
Yield: Serves 4
Time needed: 20 minutes
Ingredients
120g all-purpose flour
40g fine sugar
¼ tsp salt
100ml water
2 eggs
½ tsp baking soda
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp sugar
Filling:
Butter or margarine
Condensed milk
Shredded cheese
Chocolate chips or chocolate rice
Chopped peanuts (optional)
Steps:
Recipe adapted from Two Kitchens’ blog.
Image credit: @cypianist
The Leche Flan is one of the most common no-bake Asian desserts to complete any special Filipino household feast. This caramel-topped custard is traditionally made in oblong-shaped pans called llanera, but they can also be enjoyed in individual servings using pudding cups, ramekins or even small jars.
Image credit: @cheer.seeds
Leche flan is cooked in a steamer in the oven, using a bain-marie method. If you’re not a fan of working with heat, there’s also a version of the no-bake dessert that uses gelatin and sets in the fridge, named ‘Jelly Flan’. This recipe makes enough to fill one llanera, or four ramekins.
Yield: Serves 4
Time needed: 45 minutes
Ingredients
4 egg yolks
100ml condensed milk
½ cup evaporated milk
70g sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp boiling water
Steps:
Recipe adapted from Kawaling Pinoy’s post.
Image credit: @yslcooks
Every CNY gathering without fail, there will be a plate of these Fried Nian Gao displayed on the table for me and my cousins to devour. Though they are mostly available during the festive season, there’s nothing stopping you from making this sweet, deep-fried snack all year round.
Image credit: @chefymuse
The chewy rice cake centre is usually sold only during CNY, but you can easily make nian gao at home from scratch, and keep it in the fridge for up to six months.
The most popular way to enjoy fried nian gao is to create a yam and sweet potato sandwich that softens while you fry it. Pro tip: slice the sweet potato and yam thinly to cook them faster without burning the batter!
Yield: 18 pieces
Time needed: 30 minutes
Ingredients
Nian Gao:
300g glutinous rice flour
300ml water
300g white sugar
100g dark brown sugar or coconut sugar
Batter ingredients:
100g plain or cake flour, sifted
2 eggs
½ tsp baking powder
90ml ice water
400g sweet potato (optional)
400g yam (optional)
Steps:
Recipe adapted from What To Cook Today’s post.
Image credit: @tc_center.kz
If you haven’t caught onto the viral Korean Dalgona coffee craze, you’ve probably been living under a rock. This whipped coffee trend got its name from the Korean Dalgona Candy, also known as ppopgi in Korea. Its honey-brown colour and puffed-up look is what inspired the name behind the trendy drink.
Image credit: @andgelnoms
This honeycomb candy only uses two ingredients: sugar and baking soda. There’s a lot of chemistry that goes behind the making of this dessert, but the most essential points to take note are to grease your equipment well and to work fast.
You can use cookie cutters to make patterns like the ones sold on the streets of Korea. Or, you can pour the molten mixture onto baking pans, and break the hardened sheet into thick honeycomb shards for snacks.
Yield: Serves 4
Time needed: 10 minutes
Ingredients
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp baking soda
Steps:
Recipe adapted from Yummy Tummy and Genius Kitchen’s posts.
Image credit: @scruffandsteph
The Banh Bao Chi is a fondly regarded coconut dessert in Vietnam. These adorable, bite-sized no-bake Asian desserts are sometimes prepared like ondeh ondeh with a coating of desiccated coconut.
Image credit: @runawayrice
Encased within each chewy dough ball is a filling made out of mung beans, coconut shavings, and crushed peanuts. For a more IG-worthy presentation, you can split the dough and use food colouring to yield a batch of rainbow snowballs, or even serve them in mini cupcake liners to disguise any misshapen parts and seams.
Yield: 24 pieces
Time needed: 1 hour
Ingredients
Filling:
⅓ cup mung bean, peeled and split
⅛ tsp salt
½ cup water
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 cups water
½ cup peanuts, roasted and chopped
¼ cup water
¼ cup sugar
Dough:
2 cups glutinous rice flour
1 cup boiling water
¼ cup sugar
1 cup desiccated coconut
Steps:
Recipe adapted from Run Away Rice’s post.
You may find that many of these no-bake Asian desserts work with very similar ingredients such as glutinous rice flour and coconut milk. The reason for this is because in the past, butter and milled flour were not common ingredients. As such, Asian desserts are nothing like cheesecakes or brownies, but still special–and delicious–in their own ways.
If you are looking for more fuss-free recipes to whip up at home, take a look at our instant noodle recipes. Or, if you want to satisfy more sweet cravings at home, try out our take on the viral Dalgona coffee with this Dalgona Speculoos Milk recipe!
Featured image adapted from @nanoeater, @cypianist, and @annafamb.
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