Snow pear and tremella soup (雪梨银耳汤) is a familiar Chinese home-style preparation made with fresh pear, edible white tremella fungus, water, and a little rock sugar. A related preparation places the soaked fungus and sugar inside a hollowed pear and steams it whole. Both versions offer a gentle, fragrant dessert that can be eaten warm or cooled. The original Heshoutang recipe emphasizes a simple steamed pear and its traditional role in soothing dryness, caring for the voice, and supporting lung and skin comfort. This expanded guide preserves that traditional description while making the recipe easier to reproduce.
1. What Are Snow Pear and Tremella?
Snow pear (xue li, 雪梨) is a juicy pear commonly used in Chinese soups and steamed fruit dishes. Depending on region and season, Asian pear varieties may be sold as snow pear, Chinese pear, or nashi pear. Choose a sound, fragrant pear that is not bruised or spoiled. A western pear can be substituted for cooking, although the texture and flavor will change.
Tremella (yin er, 银耳; Tremella fuciformis), also called white fungus or snow fungus, is an edible jelly fungus. Dried tremella expands dramatically when soaked and becomes tender, softly gelatinous, and lightly silky when simmered. It is not the same as bird's nest and is not interchangeable with an unidentified wild mushroom. Buy an identified, food-grade product from a reputable supplier.
Rock sugar or white sugar balances the mild flavor, but sugar is optional. The pear supplies natural sweetness, especially when ripe.
2. The Original Heshoutang Steamed-Pear Method — Preserved
The original article's core instructions are kept here, with the same ingredients and approximate steaming time.
Ingredients for one pear:
1 good-sized snow pear;
5 g tremella that has already been soaked (the original recipe describes “immersed tremella 5 gram”); if starting with dry fungus, soak a small amount and weigh the softened portion;
10 g white sugar or rock sugar, or less according to taste;
a heat-safe bowl and a steamer.
Steps:
Wash the pear thoroughly. Cut a lid from its stem end and keep the lid.
Carefully scoop out the core and seeds while leaving the base and outer walls intact. Avoid cutting through the bottom.
Inspect the softened tremella, remove any firm yellow base, rinse, and cut into small pieces.
Place the tremella and sugar in the hollow of the pear. Replace the pear lid.
Set the stuffed pear upright in a heat-safe bowl to collect the fragrant liquid. Put the bowl into a steamer with water below the rack.
Steam for approximately 20 minutes, as in the original recipe. Actual time depends on pear size, variety, and how tender the tremella was before filling. Continue steaming if the pear is not tender or the fungus is still firm.
Carefully remove the hot bowl. Drink the collected liquid and eat the steamed pear and tremella together.
Original serving tradition:
The earlier article suggests enjoying this preparation once daily as a routine food. This is a traditional dietary suggestion, not a required medical dose. Many families simply enjoy it when they want a warm, lightly sweet dessert.
Practical clarification:
The original 20-minute timing is easiest to achieve with a relatively small pear and previously softened tremella. If you start with hard dried tremella, prepare and simmer it separately first; stuffing unsoftened dried fungus into a pear is unlikely to yield the expected silky texture in 20 minutes.
3. A More Detailed Snow Pear and Tremella Soup
For a spoonable soup rather than a stuffed pear, use the following home-style variation.
Ingredients — approximately 3–4 small servings:
2 medium snow pears, about 350–450 g total;
12–15 g dried, food-grade tremella;
900–1,200 mL clean water, adjusted for the desired consistency;
10–25 g rock sugar, optional;
4–6 dried goji berries or 2–3 pitted red dates, optional additions (omit where allergies, medications, or other dietary requirements call for caution).
Method:
Soak the dried tremella according to its package instructions, preferably in the refrigerator if soaking for an extended period. Do not leave rehydrated fungus soaking unrefrigerated overnight.
Discard the soaking liquid, trim away the hard attachment base, and tear the fungus into bite-sized pieces.
Put tremella and fresh water in a clean saucepan. Bring to a full boil and lower to a gentle simmer.
Simmer for about 35–60 minutes, or until the fungus becomes tender and the broth begins to feel slightly silky. Texture varies by variety and cut size; add hot water as needed.
Wash, core, and cut the pears into chunks. Keep the skin if preferred and thoroughly washed. Add the pear during the last 15–25 minutes, depending on how soft you like it.
Add rock sugar near the end and stir until dissolved. If using optional goji berries or dates, add them during the final cooking period and ensure everything is fully heated.
Serve warm, with the fruit and fungus in each bowl. A small portion makes a satisfying dessert without requiring a large amount of added sugar.
For a clearer, less gelatinous broth, use more water and simmer for a shorter time. For a thicker texture, simmer the fungus until tender before adding the pear. Avoid pressure-cooker improvisation without following your appliance's liquid and filling limits.
4. How This Recipe Is Understood in Traditional Chinese Food Therapy
In traditional Chinese food culture, pear is commonly described as sweet and cooling, with uses associated with generating fluids, easing dryness, and comforting a dry throat. Tremella is widely described as a food that nourishes yin and moistens the lungs, especially in dry-season soups. A warm pear–tremella preparation is therefore popularly chosen in autumn, in heated indoor environments, and by people who use their voice extensively.
The original article also uses the characteristic expressions “clean dry toxin,” “clean your voice,” “clean your lung system,” and “moisten your skin.” These phrases are preserved as descriptions of the author's traditional food-therapy perspective. In modern health language, they can be understood as cultural ways of describing comfort during dryness; they should not be mistaken for a measured removal of bodily toxins or proven treatment of a lung or skin disease.
Some families describe the dessert as particularly helpful for singers, speakers, teachers, and performers. It is pleasant as a warm fluid-containing food, and the original article calls it an especially good recipe for singers. Persistent hoarseness, breathing difficulty, blood in sputum, or prolonged cough nevertheless deserves clinical evaluation rather than reliance on a dessert alone.
Traditional descriptions vary between schools and people; they do not substitute for individualized medical assessment. Nor should the properties attributed to whole tremella foods automatically be assigned to purified tremella extracts.
5. Nutrition and Food Components
Pear brings water, natural fruit sugars, and dietary fiber; some of its fiber is found in the skin. Raw pear also supplies modest amounts of potassium and vitamin C, although heating changes some vitamins. Pear's carbohydrate content remains relevant for anyone who manages blood glucose.
Tremella contains fungal polysaccharides that contribute to the characteristic soft, gelatinous mouthfeel. The nutrient composition depends strongly on the starting fungus, drying, soaking, and cooking. Its most distinctive role in this particular recipe is providing texture rather than large amounts of protein or a balanced nutrient profile.
The entire dessert is not a complete meal: it supplies little substantial protein or fat unless served alongside other foods. Sugar added during preparation increases the total sugar content. You can gradually reduce the rock sugar instead of assuming the full recipe amount is necessary.
6. What Modern Research Says About Tremella
Laboratory and animal research has investigated tremella polysaccharides in relation to antioxidant activity, inflammatory signaling, immune responses, skin hydration, and metabolic processes. Reviews published in 2025 discuss these potential properties and interest in food and cosmetic applications. These results are promising topics for study, but many findings involve isolated polysaccharides, concentrated extracts, or experimental doses, not an ordinary bowl of soup. They do not establish that eating this recipe cures infection, cleanses lungs, reverses skin disease, treats diabetes, or prevents cancer.
Research about pear as a fruit is similarly best understood in the context of a varied diet. The practical strengths of this preparation are its appealing texture, fluid content, enjoyable taste, and place in a longstanding food tradition.
7. Adjusting the Recipe for Different Preferences
Less sweet:
Choose ripe pears and omit added rock sugar. Cinnamon or ginger may change the traditional flavor profile; use sparingly if desired, but they are optional, not essential.
More pear-forward:
Reduce tremella slightly and add pear closer to the end so it retains its shape.
More silky:
Cook tremella longer before adding the pear, adding water to prevent scorching.
Small portions:
Make half a batch and finish it promptly rather than storing a large quantity.
Traditional stuffed-pear presentation:
Keep the pear whole, as in Section 2, and serve in its own bowl for a visually elegant, individual dessert.
8. Food Safety: Soaking, Cooking, and Storage
Dried edible fungi must be handled as foods that can become perishable once hydrated. Soak as directed by the manufacturer; use clean utensils and water. Do not leave soaked tremella at room temperature overnight. Discard any fungus with suspicious odor, sliminess unrelated to its usual cooked texture, unexpected discoloration, or mold. Thorough cooking is important, but it cannot guarantee that spoiled food is safe.
Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow, covered containers, generally within two hours of cooking; use within 3–4 days if stored properly cold, or freeze if appropriate. Reheat until thoroughly hot and discard food that has been left out too long. Do not repeatedly reheat the same batch.
For young children, cut slippery pear and fungus into suitably small pieces and supervise eating. Anyone with a confirmed allergy to a component should avoid it. People with diabetes should consider the pear and added sugar within their carbohydrate plan. People on fluid restrictions or individualized kidney diets should adjust portion size with their care team.
9. Common Questions
Can I make it without sugar?
Yes. Ripe pear supplies sweetness. The original 10 g sugar in the stuffed pear is an optional culinary choice.
Can I use fresh tremella?
Use only a reliably identified commercial edible product and follow handling instructions. Adjust the quantity because fresh, rehydrated, and dried weights are not interchangeable.
Why did the fungus remain firm?
It may need longer soaking, trimming, and cooking. The original 20-minute steamed version assumes a small amount of already softened fungus.
Is this a cough medicine?
It is a traditional food preparation often enjoyed for throat and dryness comfort, not a substitute for diagnosing or treating cough or respiratory illness.
Does “snow pear” mean “Sydney”?
No. The legacy English title used “Sydney,” but the fruit name is snow pear, transliterated from 雪梨 (xue li). “Sydney” is a translation mistake, not the ingredient.
10. Summary
Snow pear and tremella soup connects a simple Chinese kitchen method with longstanding food-therapy traditions. The original one pear + 5 g soaked tremella + 10 g sugar, steamed for about 20 minutes remains a useful starting point, while the simmered soup variation helps readers achieve a reliably soft texture. The traditional language of clearing dryness, soothing the voice, moistening the lungs, and nourishing the skin belongs to the recipe's cultural heritage. Enjoy it as food, prepare it safely, and seek appropriate care when symptoms are persistent or concerning.