Another year has gone by and this year my son and husband (yes both of them) have decided to embark on a non-processed food journey. That’s right, both are committed to eating non processed foods. So I thought it’s a perfect time for me to make them one of my childhood favorite dessert, but this time completely from scratch. Chè trôi nước (glutinous rice balls). This is one of those desserts I’ve been too intimidated to make from scratch because it just seems so…difficult and time consuming. However, if I don’t try, how would I know right? So today I’m going to show you what I did to make chè trôi nước (glutinous rice balls) from scratch.
What is glutinous rice balls (chè trôi nước)?
Chè trôi nước is a traditional Vietnamese dessert made using glutinous rice rolled into a ball and stuffed with mung bean paste or sugar cube. The dessert is served warm in a ginger simple syrup and drizzled with coconut milk and sprinkled with crushed peanuts and or sesame seeds.
In the past, I bought the premade mix and just added water to form the glutinous rice balls. However, this time, I made the glutinous rice balls using glutinous rice flour and water. I also made the mung bean paste using mung beans, salt, water, and sugar. As for the ginger simple syrup (1:1 ratio for water and sugar), I used freshly grated ginger, water, and sugar.
How to make glutinous rice balls dessert?
Measure out one cup of glutinous rice flour and mix it with warm water. Make sure you read the labels before grabbing the flour. There is glutinous rice flour and regular rice flour. You want the glutinous rice flour. Not the regular rice flour. The glutinous rice flour is needed for this recipe because it gives you the chewy texture you want.
Continue mixing until the flour and water come together into a ball. The dough should form into a ball and not stick to your hands as you knead it. That’s when you know you have the correct water to flour ratio. If the dough is too dry (because it’s crumbly), add 1 tbsp water at a time until it comes together.
Cover the water and flour mixture with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. While the batter is resting, I turn my attention to making the mung bean paste.
Cooking the filling
When it comes to the filling for the glutinous rice ball dessert, you have two options. The first is the mung bean paste. The second is using a small sugar cube. I’m a fan of the mung bean paste because it is the healthier option. You can also add some chopped fried onions or scallions to the mung bean paste to give it a savory sweet flavor, but today I opted for using just the mung bean paste.
To make the mung bean paste, just add water and mung beans together in a pot and let the mung beans cook until they are soft. Add in the sugar, salt then smashed the mung beans until it becomes a paste.
Let the paste cool to room temperature. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out a portion of the paste and roll it into a ball. Grease the bottom of a plate and put the balls on the plate covered in the fridge. This makes it easier to put inside the glutinous rice batter.
Now that the mung bean paste is made, I turn my attention back to the glutinous rice flour batter.
Assembling the glutinous rice balls
After the rice flour is done resting, use an ice cream scoop to portion out the dough onto your palm. It works best if you place a drop or two of oil onto your hands. This will help the dough not stick to your hands.
Flatten the dough out into a disc. Place the mung bean paste in the middle of the rice dough. Gently pull the dough over the mung bean paste until the mung bean paste is completely covered by the dough. Gently roll the filled dough into a ball and place it on a greased plate. This helps it not stick to the plate when you go to boil it. It’s okay if the rice balls are not completely uniform, after all, its homemade.
Cooking the glutinous rice ball dessert
When I was young, I remember my mom telling me…just watch for it to rise to the top, then you know it’s cooked. So now that’s what I do. After the dessert is assembled, put the glutinous rice balls in boiling water. At first it will sink to the bottom of the pot. When it floats to the top, it’s done and you can remove it from the boiling water. No need to poke it, or cut it open to see if the flour is cooked through. Easy right?
Serving glutinous rice ball dessert
So now that the glutinous rice balls are cooked through, how do you serve it? This dessert is served warm. Never cold because when its warm, the glutinous rice ball is soft and chewy. Place a few glutinous rice balls in a bowl. Cover it with ginger simple syrup and a generous serving of coconut milk. Top it with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and crushed peanuts and there you have it…a nice warm comforting dessert for a cold winter’s night.
Storing leftovers
As usual, I like to store the glutinous rice balls and the simple syrup and coconut milk in separate containers. I find it stores better and doesn’t become mushy. To reassemble the dessert from the fridge, I’d recommend placing the simple syrup, the glutinous rice balls and coconut milk in a bowl, then heat it up together in the microwave until the glutinous rice balls are nice and soft. Then sprinkle the sesame seeds and crushed peanuts on top. Remember to let it cool for a few minutes before digging in. Enjoy!!
Chè Trôi Nước (Glutinous Rice Balls)
Ingredients
Ingredients for the glutinous rice balls:
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour
- ¼ cups water add 1 tbsp as needed
Ingredients for the mung bean filling:
- ½ cup peeled mung beans soaked overnight and rinsed.
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1¼ cup water
- 2 tbsp sugar more if you want a sweeter filling.
- 2 tsp vanilla
Ingredients for the ginger simple syrup:
- 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup sugar add more sugar if you want it to be more sweet
Ingredients for toppings:
- 3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
Instructions
Instructions to make the glutinous rice dough:
- Measure out the glutinous rice and add the water to it.
- Mix it until the water and the flour combine. When it forms into a ball and will no longer stick to your hands, it is done.
- Cover the dough with plastic and set it aside for 30 minutes to rest.
Ingredients for making the mung bean filling:
- Soak the mung beans overnight and rinse it with fresh water 3X.
- Place the mung beans in a pot with water & let it cook until the mung beans are soft and is easily mashed. If you need to add more water to the pot, add 2 TBSP at a time.
- Add sugar, salt and vanilla to the cooked mung beans. Set it aside to cool completely.
- After the mung beans have cooled completely, use a small ice cream scoop to portion out the mung beans. Using your hands, roll the mung beans into a ball and set it aside.
Instructions for assembling the glutinous rice balls:
- Pour water into a pot and let it come to a boil, covered.
- After the glutinous dough is done resting, use an ice cream scoop to portion out the dough into your palm. Using your hands, spread the dough out into a medium sized round disc.
- Take the mung bean ball and place it in the middle of the glutinous rice dough.
- Gently roll the sides of the dough over the mung bean. Make sure the dough fully covers the entire mung bean filling.
- Then gently shape the filled dough into round balls and set aside.
- Continue until all the dough and filling are used.
- Place the glutinous balls into the boiling water. It will initially sink to the bottom. When the balls floats to the top, remove it from the boiling pot and place them on a plate or bowl.
Instructions for making the ginger simple syrup:
- Add the water and sugar into a pot & bring it to a boil. Then add in the vanilla and freshly grated ginger. Give the simple syrup a taste and adjust the sweetness accordingly.
Instructions for assembling the dessert:
- To serve, place the glutinous rice balls in a bowl. Add the ginger simple syrup and a generous serving of coconut milk. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top if desired.
The next time you’re looking for a comforting dessert to serve, give this recipe a try. If you’ve made this before leave me a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
For more Vietnamese dessert recipes, click here.
