An Introduction to Chinese Candies
The sweet, sweet taste of nostalgia
Disclaimer: there are SOOOO many other candies that I didn't touch on in this list. That's why this isn't a definitive list by any stretch. But it's a good start, especially for those of you who haven't had experience with Chinese sweets!
White Rabbit Creamy Candy
It starts out brittle but becomes chewy, with a taste that's simultaneously sweet and creamy. The best part of the candy is the inner "wrapper"—sort of a Russian nesting doll situation—which looks like paper but is actually made of rice, so you can eat it! It's not so much about the flavor as the novel sensation of eating paper, and I thought that was really cool at age eight.
Marukawa Gum
Four little gum balls come in each small box and the flavor is so wonderful and intense. I always opted for the variety pack, which included strawberry, melon, grape, and orange—mostly because I loved mixing and matching to create my own flavors. Marukawa loses flavor after about 30 seconds of chewing, so it's the definition of short and sweet.
Jelly Candy
The Jolly Rancher of Chinese candies, at least in flavor—not so much in texture. Jelly candy has the consistency of firm tofu, but because of that, it always made it really fun to eat.
Tamarind Candy
"What's that?" I asked an 11-year-old Sis, pointing to a strange looking fruit while we were wandering around the Chinese grocery store. "Poop," she replied with confidence. And for the next 10 years I genuinely thought the beloved tamarind fruit was poop and never went near it. Ironically, around the same time as the grocery store incident, I fell in love with tamarind candy, which mimics the sweet and tart taste of tamarind. I never made the connection between the fruit and candy despite the fact that the wrapper pretty much had a picture of tamarind on it. I wasn't the brightest kid.
Flower Candy
They don't taste floral at all, but I loved these popular hard candies. They remind me of Werther's Originals in that they're always found at the bottom of a purse or carried around by a beloved grandparent. The flavor is like sweetened condensed milk with hints of an ambiguous fruit. Yum.
Haw Flakes
About the size of a nickel and wafer thin, I used to pretend with my cousins that haw flakes were medicine that we'd prescribed each other while playing doctor. They're made from the fruit of the Chinese hawthorn, a small tree that grows in the mountainous regions of China. It has a sweet, almost berry-like taste. These were the go-to snack of the Phan household and also act as a great digestive.
Hard Plum Candy
Hard plum candy sounds like a bad porn title, but IT'S AMAZING. At its core is a dried plum (tart enough to give Warheads a run for their money) which is encased in hardened honey that you suck until it melts away. The effect is similar to a reverse Sour Patch Kid. Whenever we went to the Chinese grocery store, I would always sneak a pack of hard plum candy into the cart. Mom was always okay with it, because for candy it's actually pretty healthy. It's also Sis' favorite. We could never get enough of these suckers, pun intended.