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Chinese Sugar, aka Rock Sugar, is lumps of crystallized, refined sugar sold in plastic bags.

There are two kinds: a clear, gold-coloured sugar, that comes in comes in lumps of varying sizes that you have to whack before using, and a white, opaque kind that comes in more regular shapes.

Both kinds will have crystals up to 1 inch (2 1/2 cm) wide, and the same properties.

Chinese Sugar has a clear taste, with no caramel tones even if it is the gold-coloured one. It is not as sweet as regular white granulated sugar. Because it's less sweet, it doesn't overwhelm the flavour of tea as much as white sugar can.

To make it, sugar cane is cooked until it just starts to colour.

The phrase "Chinese Sugar" can also be used to refer to sugar crystals made by suspending string in a raw sugar cane juice. The sugar in the juice crystallizes around the string, forming lumps of sugar crystals around it.

Kwangtung Province in China is known for its production of Chinese Rock Sugar.

Cooking Tips
Chinese Sugar is used marinades, sauces, soups and in tea, and in poultry dishes in northern China. It can also be used to decorate cakes.

You can grind it down in a mortar or pestle to make a finer sugar.

It dissolves in water, though it will take a while.

Substitutes
For each sugar crystal called for, swap in 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar.

Other entries for:

Sugar
Aspartame, Brown Sugar, Chinese Sugar, Date Sugar, Dextrose, Erythritol, Frosting, Fructose, Gelling Sugar, Granulated Sugar, Icing Sugar, Invert Sugar, Lavender Sugar, Malt Sugar, Raw Sugar, Rosemary Sugar, Sanding Sugar, Snow White Sugar, Sparkling Sugar

Other entries for: Sweeteners

Amasake, Honey, Sorbitol, Stevia, Syrups, Xylitol