The Best Dessert Chaobing 炒冰

This is my favorite dessert hands down.  I first found out about this dessert when I went to study abroad in China for the first time in Hainan province.  This was a local favorite for the university students near Hainan University.  The street next to the southern gate of the campus was always vibrant and full of delicious and interesting things to eat.  As far as dessert goes though, this one was special.  It is called Chaobing and literally means 'fried ice'.  Of course it does not mean fry in the hot sense but actually in the cold sense.  It is perfect way to cool down on a hot summer night in China.  You won't find this being served in the day time though.   I thought they could make lots more money that way, but it was no exception.  China has a 'night market' culture where all the treats come out at around 7 pm and go on until late at night. 

You eat this special dessert by choosing fruits of your choice.  The fruits that were chosen for the Chaobing in the picture above were grape, papaya, and apple.  Yummy combination.  Usually the vendors will allow you to choose three fruits.  After that they will blend the fruits into juice and add some condensed milk.  Then they will proceed to add the juice+milk  onto an evaporator.  This machine makes the blended juice+milk very cold.  They will keep flipping the juice+milk until it begins to harden and become an ice cream like consistency.  Add raisins and crushed peanuts to the top and there you have it.  The best dessert on the planet.

Take a look at this video to see what it looks like when they flip the Chaobing.   

I hope one day you will be able to try Chaobing.  Unfortunately I have never seen this dessert being sold anywhere except for Hainan province.  My friends from the north actually didn't know what Chǎobīng was and would always think I am pronouncing it wrong and actually referring to Chǎobǐng 炒饼.  A dish pronounced the same way with different tones.  This light and refreshing dessert should be on the to-eat list of anyone visiting Hainan.