What is chè đường?
Chè đường (peeled mung bean dessert) is a clear, translucent dessert sprinkled with steam mung beans throughout and on top. Here we are, talking about another variation of a Vietnamese dessert using mung beans. What can I say…I just love mung beans. The first time I talked about mung bean was in the chè đậu xanh post, which used the unpeeled green colored mung beans. This time around, the dessert is called chè đường, which is a dessert made from peeled, steamed mung beans and tapioca starch.
The texture is similar to that of an almost set Jello in that there’s a bit of jiggle to it. When you dive in with a spoon, there’s a caramel like pull to it, a bit of “elasticity” if you will. This is due to the tapioca starch.
Because my mom only made this dessert during the Lunar New Year, seeing it takes me back to my childhood celebrating the New Year with my family in Vietnam.
How to make chè đường (peeled mung bean dessert)?
For some reason, I’ve always thought making chè đường (peeled mung bean dessert) was a complicated process, until recently when I asked my mom to show me her recipe. The dish is easy to make. The only thing that is labor intensive is the continuous stirring. Without continuous stirring, the bottom will burn. The continuous stirring is especially important during the addition of the tapioca flour/water mixture. Without it, once the tapioca flour/water mixture hits the boiling water/sugar mixture, it will create clumps.
So while I was continually stirring the mixture, I was trying to think of a way to continually stir without me having to do all the work. Work smarter, not harder, right? Then I thought back to chemistry labs and how this may be possible with the use of a giant beaker, hot plate, and a large stir bar. I have yet to test this method out, but it does seem promising….back to the present.
The recipe only calls for five main ingredients, tapioca flour, water, sugar, vanilla and peeled mung beans. Just bring the water and sugar to a boil. Then add in tapioca flour and stir until the mixture thickens before adding in steamed mung beans and vanilla extract…and that’s it.
Growing up my mom made this dish in conjunction with xôi vò (sticky rice and mung beans). Click here to see the recipes for xôi vò. I never understood why until recently. There are a couple of reasons for doing this. First, the two dishes complement each other. Second, only a small amount of steamed mung beans is needed for the chè đường (peeled mung bean dessert), so she figured if she’s going through the process of steaming mung beans, why not set up one process to make two different dishes? Brilliant!!
What to serve with chè đường?
The traditional way to eat this dish is to combine it with xôi vò (sticky rice and mung beans). The other way is to eat it alone, but people seldom eat it alone. Adding the xôi vò (sticky rice and mung beans) will add some texture to the dish and a bit of a salty and buttery flavor.
How to store peeled mung bean dessert?
This dessert has to be portioned into individual servings right after it’s cooked. As it cools, it will continue to thicken just a tad more. It cannot be stored in a big container to be portioned out as needed. The reason is because doing so will cause it to loose its “elasticity”, and you’ll end up with a running tub of chè đường (peeled mung bean dessert). Nobody wants to eat runny peeled mung bean dessert. Due to this, my family stores it in single serving bowls covered with saran plastic wraps in the fridge.
Chè Đường (Peeled mung bean dessert).
Ingredients
- 6 cups water plus 16 tsp of water saved to mix with the tapioca flour.
- 1 cup sugar add more or less depending on your taste.
- 1 tsp salt
- 15 tsp tapioca flour
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup steamed peeled mung beans to add into the desert and sprinkled on top.
Instructions
Instructions for steaming the peeled mung beans:
- Place 1/3 cups of uncooked peeled mung beans in a bowl.
- Rinse it with water until water becomes clear. Add enough water to the bowl to fully submerge the beans and let them soak overnight.
- In the morning, add water to a pot and place a steamer basket on top. Make sure to not let the basket touch the water below and bring the water to a boil.
- While waiting for the water to boil. Discard the water that the peeled mung beans were soaking in by pouring the mung beans into a colander to remove any excess water. Then add a pinch of salt to the peeled mung beans and mix well.
- Place the peeled mung beans in the steamer basket and let steam until peeled mung beans are soft. If the steamer basket is too big for the amount of mung beans, you can place the mung beans in a steamer safe dish, then place the dish inside the steamer basket to steam. Set aside and prepare the dessert.
Instructions for the chè đường:
- Add the water into a pot.
- Then add in the salt…
- And sugar. Give the water a taste and adjust the sweetness accordingly.
- Bring the water, salt and sugar mixture to a boil.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, add 15 tsp tapioca flour and 16 tsp of water and mix well until there's no clumps. This will act as a thickening agent for the dessert.
- With a spoon in one hand and the tapioca/water mixture in the other, while stirring the pot, slowly pour the tapioca/water mixture into the pot.
- Continue stirring until the mixture thickens. Approximately 30 minutes. You will notice that the mixture will start to come to a boil. Continuous stirring will prevent the bottom from burning.
- After the mixture has thicken, add in the steamed peeled mung beans, vanilla extract, while continuing to stir. Then immediately turn off the heat to prevent burning. And there you have it, a traditional Vietnamese dessert called chè đường.
If you’re craving a sweet but slightly salty dessert, give this combination a try. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave me a comment below. If you like this post, feel free to share it on Facebook by using the buttons below.
