Chè Ba Màu
Vietnam's three-colour dessert: red bean, yellow mung bean and emerald pandan jelly layered in a tall glass, topped with crushed ice and coconut cream.
Overview
Three sweet components are prepared separately: red beans simmered until tender then mixed with sugar, split mung beans cooked until just holding shape and lightly sweetened, and pandan-flavoured agar jelly cut into small cubes. Each layer goes into a glass with crushed ice between them and a generous drizzle of sweetened coconut cream over the top.
Ingredients
Red bean layer (đậu đỏ)
- 100 g dried azuki red beans (soaked overnight)
- 50 g caster sugar
- A pinch of fine sea salt
Mung bean layer (đậu xanh)
- 100 g dried split yellow mung beans (đậu xanh tách vỏ; soaked 2 hours)
- 40 g caster sugar
- A pinch of fine sea salt
Pandan jelly layer (thạch lá dứa)
- 4 g agar agar powder (about 1 teaspoon)
- 400 ml water
- 50 g caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon pandan extract (or 4 pandan leaves blended with the water and strained)
- A few drops green food colouring (optional, for a vivid green)
Coconut cream topping
- 200 ml coconut cream
- 50 ml water
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- A pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon cornflour mixed with 1 tablespoon water
To serve
- 400 g crushed ice
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (or crushed roasted peanuts, optional)
Method
Stage 1 - Cook the red beans
- Drain the soaked red beans and rinse. Place in a saucepan with 600 ml fresh water.
- Bring to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 40-50 minutes, topping up with hot water as needed, until the beans are completely soft but still hold their shape. They should crush easily between two fingers.
- Drain off most of the liquid (leave a tablespoon or two clinging to the beans). Stir in the sugar and salt while still hot. The sugar will melt and glaze the beans.
- Set aside to cool.
Stage 2 - Cook the mung beans
- Drain the soaked mung beans. Place in a saucepan with 400 ml fresh water.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 15-20 minutes until tender but not collapsed. Mung beans cook far faster than red beans.
- Drain off the cooking liquid (it should be mostly absorbed). Stir in the sugar and salt while warm.
- Set aside to cool. The mung beans will firm up as they cool into a soft, scoopable mass.
Stage 3 - Make the pandan jelly
- Place a small square baking dish (about 15 x 15 cm) on the counter.
- In a small saucepan, whisk the agar agar powder into the water until dispersed.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook for 2 minutes; agar needs to actually boil to set.
- Add the sugar and whisk until dissolved. Stir in the pandan extract and food colouring (if using).
- Pour into the baking dish to a depth of about 1 cm. Leave to set at room temperature for 20 minutes (agar sets at warm temperatures, unlike gelatine).
- Once firm, slice into small 6 mm cubes.
Stage 4 - Make the coconut cream topping
- In a small saucepan, combine the coconut cream, water, sugar and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
- Whisk in the cornflour slurry and cook for 1 minute, stirring, until very lightly thickened. It should still pour easily.
- Tip into a jug and cool to room temperature.
Stage 5 - Assemble
- Take 4 tall glasses (200-300 ml capacity each).
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of red beans into the bottom of each glass.
- Layer 2 tablespoons of mung beans on top.
- Add 2 tablespoons of pandan jelly cubes.
- Top with a generous handful of crushed ice.
- Pour over 3-4 tablespoons of coconut cream to soak through the ice.
- Scatter with sesame seeds or peanuts if using.
- Serve immediately with a long iced-tea spoon.
Notes
- Eat from the bottom: The whole point of chè ba màu is mixing the layers as you spoon. Tell first-time eaters to dig down to the bottom of the glass on every spoonful so they get red bean, mung bean, jelly and coconut cream all together.
- Agar, not gelatine: Agar sets firm at room temperature and holds its shape against the ice, gelatine would melt. Vegan-friendly too.
- Bean texture: Cook the red beans until soft, but don't let them break down into mush; you want distinct beans. The mung beans should be the opposite, soft enough that a spoon glides through.
- Pandan flavour: Fresh pandan leaves (blended with water then strained) give a more rounded flavour than extract. Asian grocers sell them frozen in bundles. Extract works fine if you can't find them.
- Make ahead: All three layers and the coconut cream keep separately for 3 days in the fridge. Assemble at the moment of serving so the ice doesn't melt.
Variations
Four-colour (chè bốn màu): Add a fourth layer of tapioca pearls cooked until clear. With taro: Replace one bean layer with 100 g steamed and sweetened taro cubes. With sweet corn (chè bắp): Stir 2 tablespoons of sweet corn kernels into the coconut cream topping.
Serving
Serve with: a long iced-tea spoon and an extra jug of coconut cream on the side for those who want more. Garnish with: a fresh pandan leaf curled into the glass, or a sprinkle of toasted coconut.
Storage
- Assembled chè is best eaten within 15 minutes before the ice melts and dilutes everything
- All components keep separately in the fridge for 3 days
- The pandan jelly can be cut and kept in cold water in the fridge for up to 4 days
- Do not freeze any of the layers
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