In Vietnamese cuisine Chè refers to sweet desserts that are served in liquid form, in a glass. Examples may include drinks, different kinds of sweet soup, puddings, or custard.
The chief ingredient used to prepare Chè is either coconut cream or water. To add flavor, people also throw in jellies, pulses, rice, beans, tubers and even cereals. You can also add your preferred canned fruits to this refreshing dessert and serve it hot or cold, depending on your own preferences.
The so-called chè đậu trắng is one of the most famous chè dishes that people usually prepare at their homes.
History & Cultural Significance
Chè desserts are believed to have been first prepared in the central region of Vietnam. Today Chè is enjoyed throughout the country. Chè has successfully become one of the most popular dessert snacks in Vietnam and can even be found in plastic cups at grocery stores.
There’s a specific kind of Chè dessert that contains coconut syrup and tastes like white beans and rice pudding. In order to celebrate the first birthday of a baby, this variety of chèis conventionally served at Vietnamese family gatherings.
Vietnamese Chè Recipe
Ingredients
For Red Rubies
- 20 ozcan of whole water chestnut- 1
- Red food coloring
- Tapioca starch- 1 cup
- Water
- Ice
For Chè Thai
- 20 oz can of jackfruit- 1
- 20 oz can of lychee- 1
- 20 oz can of longan- 1
- 19 oz can of ai-yu jelly- 1
- 20 oz can of toddy palm seeds-1
- Coconut (for the juice & meat)- 1
- 13.5 oz can of coconut milk- 1
Instructions
For Red Rubies
- Start by opening the water chestnut can and draining it. Keep in mind that for this recipe, we only need half of the water chestnuts
- Using a knife, cut them into small pieces of about ¼ inch. Take a large bowl and transfer the chestnuts into it.
- Now, pour few drops of the food colouring into the bowl and mix properly. Remember to check for extra water or colouring in the bowl because that would result in the tapioca starch becoming extra gooey.
- Next, take the tapioca starch and add one cup of it to the chestnut bowl. Make sure to spread it evenly so it covers all the water chestnuts properly.
- It’s time to get rid of the extra starch. Transfer all the water chestnuts to a colander and start sifting. It is important to remove all the extra starch before the chestnuts are added to the boiling water as it’ll make the water gooey, too.
- Now take a pot and on medium-high flame boil water in it. Add the starch-coated chestnuts to the water. Remember to do this process in small batches. Make sure to continuously keep stirring them so that they don’t stick to each other.
- In some time, you’ll notice the chestnuts starting to float to the top. Take them out of the boiling water and immediately transfer to an ice water bath. Keep them in it for about 10 minutes. Remember to still keep stirring.
For the Assembly:
- Take all the canned fruits and start opening them. Take a container and add just the syrup of lychee into it. This step will ensure that flavours of all the fruits won’t muddle up to mess up the taste.
- Cut the toddy palm into thin slices and jackfruit and lychee into large slices. Since the longan is already pretty small in size, we will use it the way it is.
- Take a large container, add in all the fruits and combine.
- Now take the coconut and crack it open. Keep the juice aside in a container and carefully carve out the coconut meat.
- Take another container and add coconut milk and coconut juice into it. Combine. Slowly start adding ½ a cup of juice syrup at a time. This is to sweeten the milk. Adjust according to your preferred taste.
- Now in the container containing all the fruit, add the sweetened coconut milk, juice, and meat. Stir.
- Refrigerate for a couple of hours for it to taste cold and refreshing. In case you want to serve instantly, just add crushed ice on top and voila!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10Amount Per Serving: Calories: 319Total Fat: 11gCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 4gProtein: 4g