Description
A comforting, traditional Vietnamese sweet dessert soup made with unpeeled green mung beans, dried red dates, chewy sago pearls, and rich coconut milk.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 cup whole unpeeled green mung beans
- 9 cups water
- 1 cup dried red dates / jujubes
- 1/4 cup small tapioca pearls / sago (optional)
- 3.5 oz yellow rock sugar (or approx. 1/3 cup granulated white sugar)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup coconut milk
Instructions
- Prep and Simmer the Beans: Rinse the dried mung beans under cold running water until the runoff is clear; drain well. Rinse and drain the dried red dates, then partially snip each one with kitchen shears so they release their natural sweetness into the broth. In a medium pot, combine the drained mung beans, prepared red dates, and 9 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Lower the heat to maintain a steady simmer, cover partially with the lid slightly ajar, and cook for about 40 minutes.
- Check for Doneness: To check if the beans are ready, carefully pinch a bean between your fingers. It should smash easily with just a tiny bit of resistance in the center. Keep them slightly firm at this stage, as they will continue to soften in the next steps. Remove red dates if using so, leaving just the boiled mung beans in the pot.
- Add Tapioca Pearls (Optional): If using small tapioca pearls (sago), stir them directly into the simmering pot. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally along the bottom to prevent sticking, until the pearls become mostly translucent.
- Sweeten and Cream: Stir in the rock sugar (or granulated sugar), fine sea salt, vanilla extract, and coconut milk. Let everything gently simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, allowing the flavors to marry into a velvety sweet soup. Taste adjust sweetness if preferred.
- Serve: Ladle the sweet soup into small bowls and serve. Enjoy it warm, chilled, or with crushed ice.
Notes
Using pandan leaves instead of vanilla extract: Tie 2 whole fresh or frozen pandan leaves into a knot and simmer them with the beans in Step 1, then discard before adding the coconut milk.
Pre-soaking beans: To cut stove time down from 40 minutes to roughly 20–25 minutes, soak the mung beans in room-temperature water for at least 4 hours or overnight before cooking. Drain and rinse thoroughly before boiling.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Chinese, Vietnamese