Childhood Memories III: Chè Đậu Xanh Bột Báng (Vietnamese Mung Bean Dessert w/ Tapioca & Coconut Milk)

When I was a kid, my mother made this dessert whenever she felt that I needed internal cooling from eating too much "hot" foods. No, not spicy hot but foods that causes your body to heat up and affect your overall health. It usually includes a diet of rich foods, spicy foods (yes, that too), oily foods, highly processed foods, etc. Despite its "medicinal effect", I really enjoyed this dessert and acknowledged my mother's diagnosis of my body's need for internal cooling, even though as a 6 year old, I couldn't careless what that really meant as long as I got to eat this delicious dish.

It is very simple. Seriously. All you need is 1 cup of mung beans,1/2 cup of tapioca, 1/2 cup of coconut milk, and as much honey as it takes to sweeten your soul. I needed a 1/4 cup. I know that some families make this traditional dessert with sugar but I have always preferred honey.

Now let's get going!

First, you just want to boil the mung beans until they are soft. This will depends on your texture preference. My mother always overcooked the mung beans until they were super soft but I really prefer them al dente.

So in a medium sized pot, add 4 cups of water and boil your mung beans and check on them every 10-15 minutes for your almost desired texture. I say almost because you're going to continue cooking this dish with the other ingredients so let's plan on not overcooking. However, you might really enjoy the beans much softer - so who knows.



When your mung beans have almost reached that desired texture, add 1/2 cup of tapioca and 1/2 cup of coconut milk. Continue cooking on low-medium heat.



After about 20 minutes, when it seems like the ingredients are well fused (loving this word), add your honey.



Continue cooking until you feel that the mung beans are just right. It is done when it has a nice thick and creamy texture. Serve warm and enjoy! You can definitely refrigerate this dish and reheat it whenever you need to.