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    Home » Asian Recipes for Summer

    Published: Jul 31, 2022 · Modified: Jan 4, 2023 by Zen · This post may contain affiliate links.

    16 Refreshing Asian Summer Recipes

    Sharing food makes everyone happy! :)

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    A collection of delicious & refreshing Asian summer recipes, ranging from no cook, no bake and picnic-friendly to ones that use in-season fruits and veg!

    Overhead shot of a glass of cold lemon lychee tea with mint.
    Jump to:
    • What makes a good summer recipe?
    • No cook dishes
    • Picnic foods
    • No Bake desserts
    • In season
    • Drinks

    What makes a good summer recipe?

    1. No bake or No cook: In summer, I imagine I'm not the only one that doesn't want to be standing around a hot stove all day!
    2. Meal prep recipes: It's picnic time! Time for make-ahead recipes that taste good at room temperature.
    3. Summer produce: Last of all, recipes that use in-season fruits and vegetables!

    Asian summer recipes

    Asian food isn't traditionally associated with seasonal eating, as many Asian countries, such as Singapore, don't have seasons! However, there are certain Asian cuisines, such as Guangdong Cantonese cuisine and Korean cuisine, that do emphasise eating in-season produce.

    No cook dishes

    One of my very favourite summer recipes is a Korean dish: Naeng Myeon, or Korean cold noodles! Click through for reviews of the best instant versions.

    You can also make your own if you have beef stock and Asian pears on hand. Korean cold noodles are best enjoyed with thinly julienned cucumbers, kimchi and a hard-boiled egg.

    Spicy cucumber salad

    Cucumbers are not only in season during May-August, they're full of water and thus really refreshing when it's hot out!

    Cold cucumber salad recipe
    The easy Chinese cold cucumber salad recipe is delicious and full of spicy flavor. Best of all, it only requires 4-ingredients and takes 5-10 minutes to make. 
    Click here for the cold Chinese salad recipe.
    Close-up of red spicy asian cucumber salad.

    Abalone Salad

    Close-up of someone picking up sliced abalone and glass noodles with chopsticks.

    Skip blanching the abalone (it can usually be eaten right from the can) and soak the bean thread noodles in hot water (instead of poaching), and this light and refreshing Thai glass noodle salad is the perfect starter to whet your appetite when the weather is hot. It's tangy, sweet, spicy and savory, all at the same time!

    Thai Vermicelli Noodle Salad with Abalone
    Tangy, sweet, spicy, and savory, this light Thai Vermicelli with Abalone Salad is a great make-ahead recipe for your Chinese New Year 2023 celebration dinner. It can even be a no-cook recipe, and is the perfect dish for beginner home chefs!
    Click here for the no cook noodle salad recipe.
    Vermicelli glass noodles mixed with sliced abalone, coriander, peanuts and dried shrimp on a leaf-shaped plate.

    Picnic foods

    Summer is the best time for a picnic! Here are some foods that taste nice even when not piping hot!

    Curry Puff Recipe (Potato)
    A savory, flaky and crispy curry puff recipe with potato filling- easily made vegan or vegetarian- that uses cupboard staples. Delicious and perfect for meal prep as it tastes good hot and cold!
    Click here for a curry puff recipe that tastes good both hot and cold.
    Vegan potato curry puff fried to a crisp golden brown on a plate.

    No Bake desserts

    Jellies

    A variety of champagne lychee jellies on a serving board.
    Koi Fish jelly
    These fish-shaped jelly will really impress at your next picnic!
    Click here for the cute jelly recipe.
    Close-up of 2 CNY koi fish jelly
    Yuzu jelly
    1 of the most popular jellies on my blog and full of delicious citrus flavor!
    Click here for the yuzu konnyaku jelly recipe.
    3 pieces of flowers shaped yuzu tea konnyaku jelly

    If you're looking for other refreshing Asian desserts, try these Singaporean recipes- in a country which is over 86F all year round, the desserts are as cooling as can be!

    No Sugar Desserts

    Come summer, lots of people are worrying about shedding the winter weight (I see 1 of them when I look in the mirror!) In this case, some no sugar desserts that still taste good may be helpful!

    No sugar Japanese jelly salad

    Traditional Japanese Konjac Jelly with Fruits Recipe (Vegan) (Low cal)
    Delicious, refreshing and easy to make, this dessert is a good way of having desserts but not adding extra sugar or honey! Perfect eaten chilled on a hot summer's day
    Click here for the easy no sugar konjac jelly recipe.
    Japanese konnyaku jelly with cut fruits salad

    No sugar coconut jelly

    Agar Agar Jelly (2-ingredient)
    An easy agar agar recipe that does not require added sweetener to give it flavour!
    Click here for a light Asian jelly perfect for summer!
    A bowl of cube-shaped agar aagr with edible flowers in them in a pink bowl.

    Click here for more No sugar AND No flour desserts!

    Stone Fruit Salad

    A platter of stone fruits with tapioca pearls and syrup on the side.

    If you like Taiwanese milk tea, you'll love this stone fruit salad which has tapioca pearls!

    Tapioca pearls & fruit dessert
    This The Devil Wears Salad stone fruit salad is a fun dessert for summer, when it's too hot to bake! It reminds me of a modern deconstructed take on traditional Asian desserts. If orange syrup isn't your thing, top it with brown sugar syrup instead!
    Click here for the summer salad recipe.
    A platter of stone fruits with tapioca pearls and syrup on the side.

    Watermelon salad

    Asian-inspired watermelon salad
    Time for a little sweet treat with this The Devil Wears Salad watermelon fruit salad as we combine watermelon balls with dragon fruit, palms seeds and brown sugar boba pearls. This is a cheeky summer fruit salad that is so easy to make and devour.
    Click here for the watermelon salad recipe.

    Icebox lime dessert

    Calamansi icebox dessert
    This Pandemonium Noshery icebox dessert tastes amazing. The tangy and complex calamansi adds great flavor in this make-and-forget dessert you won't actually be able to forget. For more calamansi lime dessert recipes, click here. Alternatively, if you don't have this particular citrus, try 1 of these calamansi lime substitutes!
    Click here for a tangy lime recipe.
    A platter of crema de fruta, a Filipino dessert.

    Egg custard

    This is a light dessert that won't make you feel too weighed down on a scorching day. Enjoy it with a cup of iced Jasmine Milk Tea on the side!

    Instant pot Hong Kong egg custard
    4 ingredients and 4 easy steps to make this Pressure Cook Recipes Silky Smooth HK Egg Custard in 20 minutes. For more Hong Kong classic recipes such as HK coffee milk tea, click on the respective links.
    Check out the HK egg custard here.

    No Bake Cake

    One of the quickest ways to heat up the house is to switch on the oven, so save yourself the torture in summer with this No Bake cheesecake!

    Matcha & oreo cheesecake
    This Sweet Mouth Joy creamy cheesecake combines 2 popular flavours: green tea and Oreos! In addition, it only requires 7 ingredients, keeps for up to 4 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer! For more matcha recipes or a matcha latte to wash it down with, click the respective links.
    Click here for the Japanese-inspired cheesecake recipe.

    In season

    Maesil, or Korean green plums, are only available for a short period around May-June. So now is the perfect time to ferment your own plum syrup, which can be used for Korean plum tea or Korean plum wine!

    How to make maesil-cheong (Fermented Korean green plum syrup)
    A super easy project, maesil (or ume) syrup is a great first project if you've never fermented anything before!
    Click here for the green plum cheong recipe.
    Adding the maesil and sugar to the jar in portions

    For more summer fruit recipes, try these Chinese & Indian papaya dessert recipes.

    Drinks

    A glass of iced lychee tea with a can of lychees behind it.
    Lychee tea recipe
    An easy lychee tea recipe: litchi tea is a non-alcoholic lychee drink is the perfect refreshing beverage for a hot summer's day! It can be easily varied by changing the type of tea used, or adding other ingredients such as lemon, rose or ginger.
    Click here for the lychee iced tea recipe.
    Overhead shot of lychee tea with lemon and mint.

    For more ways to use a can of lychees, click here.

    Papaya milk (Taiwanese drink)
    This old school street drink is a 2 (or 3) ingredient, 2-step, 3 minute recipe- literally 1 of the easiest Asian drinks you can make!
    Click here for this popular Taiwanese fruit drink.
    A glass of Taiwanese papaya milk
    2 glasses of homemade Taiwanese tiger milk tea with brown sugar streaks on the glass.
    Tiger Milk Tea
    If you make the brown sugar syrup before hand, it cuts the preparation time to minutes! (Remember to make it thick so that you can get the "tiger stripes" on the walls of the glass!)
    Click here for the popular brown sugar milk tea recipe.
    2 glasses of milk tea with brown streaks on the walls of the glasses.
    Starbucks Iced Guava Black Tea Copycat
    A cool and refreshing drink for a hot summer's day, this Starbucks copycat recipe tastes exactly like the original Starbucks Iced Guava Black Tea but costs much less. (Also you don't have to leave the AC in this heat to grab your favourite drink! Simply use a white tea bag if you prefer the original white tea version.)
    Click here for the Starbucks copycat iced black tea recipe.
    Guava black tea being poured into a glass mug.
    2 glasses of lemongrass tea with flowers floating in them.
    Ginger lemongrass tea recipe
    This ginger lemongrass tea recipe is a fragrant, no-caffeine tisane that tastes great both hot and chilled. Jazz it up with some edible flowers, mint leaves or slices of lemon to make the perfect summertime drink!
    Click here for the tropical herbal tea recipe.
    Overhead shot of lemongrass tea with edible flowers floating in it.
    Blueberry Matcha Latte (Dunkin Inspired)
    Blueberry Matcha Latte is a luxuriously sweet and creamy drink that is super easy to make. You only need 15 minutes, 4 easy-to-find ingredients and 4 steps to recreate this Dunkin Donuts drink, which is great iced in the summer or warm in winter!
    Click here for the berry matcha drink recipe.
    Close-up of a cup of Dunkin Donuts' copycat blueberry matcha latte.

    What are your favourite refreshing Asian summer recipes?

    I have other recipes you may like here! :)

    • A plate of coconut jelly and pandan jelly arranged as a flower.
      Coconut Jelly (Dim Sum) (3-ingredients)
    • Cup of pink lychee juice with a lemon.
      Easy Lychee Juice Recipe
    • Close-up of a spoonful of shrimp rice bowl with avocado.
      Easy Shrimp Poke Bowl
    • A bowl of shrimp congee toped with fresh green onions.
      Best Congee Toppings

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    Greedygirlgourmet eating 2 sandwiches in Scotland

    Hi I'm Zhen also known as GGG! I couldn't boil water till I was 18 but after living abroad (in St. Andrews then London) for 11 years and having to cook for myself, I now love cooking for friends and family. Learning to cook late, I make sure my recipes go into enough detail for those new to Asian cuisine or who love a test kitchen approach to cooking!

    More about GGG ->

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