OFF THE SHELF
Brown candy flavors Chinese confections, sauces

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

Brown candy has a flavor slightly different from that of American brown sugar. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

Brown sugar is a substitute, but the flavor of brown candy differs from that of American brown sugar. There are no dark notes, no molasses flavor. Rather, the taste resembles that of cooked white refined sugar: cotton candy or — if you're old enough to recall this — like the mill used to smell when they were cooking the sugar. If you've ever made candy and begun by caramelizing sugar with no flavorings, that's the kind of sharp sweet taste.

Brown candy may be broken up by scraping or grating, by pulverizing with a rolling pin or by dissolving it in water (although the later method is not authentic and is said to affect flavor and texture).

Brown candy is a traditional ingredient in nian gow, Chinese New Year cake — scraped or dissolved in hot water and blended with glutinous rice flour, decorated with red dates and sesame seeds, steamed and then sliced, dipped in egg and fried.

Brown candy and other forms of sugar are often called for in making Chinese meat glazes, meat sauces or braising liquids. For example, a classic duck or pork dish described by television chef Ming Tsai involves braising the meat slowly in a thick blend of Chinese wine, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, five-spice and other flavorings, removing the meat, reducing the liquid and using it as a glaze during a final quick roasting.