Chè đậu trắng is a traditional Vietnamese sweet soup of white beans and sticky rice cooked thick with sugar, finished with coconut syrup poured on top. Vietnamese families make it for family gatherings and for a baby’s first-birthday party. It’s also easy to buy: street vendors, hawkers and sweet-soup shops around Ho Chi Minh City sell it. Ingredients For the sweet soup 1 can white beans (đậu trắng) ¾ cup sticky rice 3 cups water ⅔ cup sugar 1 teaspoon flour Vanilla For the coconut syrup Small cans coconut milk A little salt Sugar A little rice flour How to make chè đậu trắng 1. Prepare the beans Rinse the white beans, boil them, then tip them into a sieve to drain. 2. Cook the rice and beans Rinse the sticky rice and put it in the pot over low heat, so the grains swell evenly. Add the sugar and the beans, and cook a little longer so the beans take up the sugar. 3. Thicken Taste and adjust, then add the vanilla. Stir the flour with a little water until it dissolves, add it to the pot and keep stirring until the chè is very thick. 4. Make the coconut syrup The syrup gives the chè its fragrance, so make it with care. Mix the coconut milk with the salt, sugar and rice flour until the flour has dissolved. Bring it to the boil over medium-low heat, then take the pot off the stove. It’s quite rich. If you’d rather keep the bowl light, leave the syrup out; the chè is still good without it. 5. Serve Ladle the chè into bowls and pour some coconut syrup over the top of each one when you eat. Share:
