Shaved ice with toppings is a traditional, Asian frozen dessert that is fresh, natural, and revitalising. Recently, modern techniques and ingredients have developed this invigorating street snack into a truly gourmet bonnie bouche. It’s gone from simple to simply amazing!
Who hasn’t heard the squeal of a child’s delight – or a sticky-faced adult – biting into a heaping mound of fresh fruit and sweets, coated in a myriad of colors and flavors, on top of a glacial mass of sparkling ice? Patbingsu, derived from the Korean word for a shaved ice dessert (“bing” = ice, “su” = water), is a super cold treat for a hot summer’s day. Uniquely Asian and very popular, patbingsu is also known as kakigōri in Japan, baobing in China, tshuah bing in Taiwan, ais kacang in Malaysia and Singapore, halo halo in the Philippines, and just “shave ice” in places like Hawaii and Peru. But now, patbingsu is the new “going mainstream” in Cambodia. Versions range from traditional all-natural treats on the corner to an elevated cuisine form of this tasty, Asian dessert.
Patbingsu is a mound of flavored, crushed ice topped by a mantle of sweet red beans, drizzled with syrups and milk, and brimming with fresh fruit like mango and strawberries, decorated with various sweets and nuts.
The variety of toppings are mind-boggling, like exotic tropical fruits such as longan berries or scarlet dragon fruit. Recent additions include Gummi-like jelly tidbits, tasty chunks of tteok (sticky glutinous rice also used in mochi balls), colored marshmallows or even Oreo cookie crumbs. Served in an ornate glass bowl, you can see all myriad of colors and flavors running down to the bottom, creating the best part: an icy, slushy mélange with chunks of tropical fruit flavors that burst into a chewy, totally sweet morsel of tropical fruit flesh and you’re hooked!
The first time I tried pat ping su, we were children seeking relief from the heat in Hawaii. We clamored to the ice man with our orders, and we couldn’t contain our excitement when the vendor started to grind the ice! Zzzt, zzzt, Zzzt, Zzzt. He spun that block of ice round and round, hitting us with a cold spray of ice, until a heap of glittering shaved ice appeared underneath.
Dumped into a small bowl, he poured a myriad of colored syrups over the sparkling ice, drizzled sweet condensed milk over it (“More! More!” we cried), and topped it all with colored jellies and fresh papaya and watermelon. We cheerfully crunched on the sweet ice, newly refreshed and hydrated, our sugar crush satisfied.
I always loved those sweet, cold flavors and that odd bit of unknown fruit or chewy jelly I even washed down the colored slurry at the end, like an icy, sweet bisque replete with hidden flavors inside.
TRADITIONAL STYLE
Patbingsu is being served in Cambodia in many forms. Often near markets or schools, the corner sweets shop has a huge offering of traditional ingredients for this traditional, healthy snack, perhaps originally from the Chinese.
Topping include exotic fruits like durian, longan, taro or ripe avocado with various sweets and jellies, with even an egg on top.
For robustness, add red or green beans, black caramelized rice, sticky rice, or coconut-marinated bananas. Poured flavors include coconut cream, palm sugar syrup and fruit sweeteners.
These traditional snacks are refreshingly all-natural and cheap, at just $0.50 – $1.50 for a small bowl loaded with toppings. And the sugar can be adjusted: just say, “Ot jong p’am,” and they will reduce the sweetness for you.
The favorite for locals is durian bingsu on a bed of sticky rice, with milk on ice. When asked why, the manager of Break Time Café and Dessert said, “People like this special flavor, and most places don’t serve durian. So they come here.” The range of bingsus is from $4.50 to $7. Break Time is located on St. 163, just north of Mao Tse Tung Blvd.
GOURMET DELIGHT
Genuine Hiangen-Daes ice cream crowns their green tea-flavored snow puffs, festooned with fresh strawberries and cantaloupe. Glazed with a confit-like fruit sauce and dusted with fine, confectionery sugar, you really can’t find a finer, more refreshing treat for a hot summer’s day. Well worth the $5–$8 indulgence.
Just to be cool, BeK has a snow makers from Korea that super cool water droplets to make their delicately flavored snow. Milk-, coconut-, chocolate-, and green tea-flavored snow balls are available. Their high-tech snow makers are constantly churning out delectable snow clouds that melt in your mouth yet satisfy your sweet tooth. Modern flavors include yoghurt, green tea, chocolate, and ice cream.
And now Nutella, Oreo, and Milo have made the list. Some add nuts like almond slices, walnuts, and cashews for a more robust bonne bouche.
MANY AND VARIED
The ice can be as simple as ice chips hand-ground from a large block of ice, to an electric ice grinder, to a modern snow maker developed to infuse flavor in these light-as-air chilled snow puffs. The syrups vary from brightly colored, sugary-sweet concoctions to high-class mixers normally reserved for cocktails. I have yet to see a margarita-like version of it, but if topped with a bit of Peau de vie de framboise, who knows?
The sweetened red beans are added for more body and taste, adding the “pat” to patbingsu. These same red beans are stuffed inside scrumptious daifuku (or ttok), the bean-filled sticky rice dumpling dessert offered during holidays, especially in East Asia. Yummy!
TRY IT ANY STYLE
With patbingsu, you have a light, stimulating frozen dessert that’s naturally satisfying.**
Traditionally, it’s chock full of fresh ingredients, minus the fat and gluten. And now the quality and ingredients has vastly improved from street to gourmet!
Patbingsu has come a long way, much like Phnom Penh. Enliven yourself at the high end with this ice cold confectionary, and the snowy, milk-flavored puffs will melt away heat and exhaustion, especially on a hot day. Choose your favorite flavors and enjoy!
