Vietnamese mixed sweet soup (Che thap cam)

There are hundreds of sweet soup recipes in Vietnam. Vietnamese mixed sweet soup (Che thap cam) which is made from many ingredients is the favorite dessert of all ages. The highlight of Mixed sweet soup is the perfect mix of various ingredients including red bean, mung bean, peanut, taro, sweet potato, agar agar, green young glutinous rice, corn, wheat flour, tapioca pearls, tapioca starch, pandan leaf, coconut milk, coconut meat, etc. In different regions of the country, they cook this dessert in different ways.

Most of the Vietnamese mixed sweet soups are served cold with ice. They are usually topped with crushed toasted peanuts, shredded coconut meat. Coconut milk is used to make the dessert greasy. It plays an important part in cooking many Vietnamese desserts including sweet soups. Vietnamese mixed sweet soup is a very popular street food which attracts lots of people including Vietnamese people and foreigners. At sweet soup stalls, they usually put each part of the mixed sweet soup in each bowl or box. For example, cooked red beans, cooked mung beans, agar agar jellies, wheat flour balls, tapioca pearls, coconut milk, shredded coconut meat, crushed peanuts are put separately. Vendors will put these parts into a glass or a bowl with ice and serve to customers when the food is ordered. Colorful sweet soup stalls and the sounds of diners who eat and talk to each other at corners in alleyways, on the pavements, at local markets have been familiar in Vietnam.

There are tens of Vietnamese mixed sweet soups as well as combinations of ingredients. Here are 3 recipes of Vietnamese mixed sweet soups in North Vietnam, Central Vietnam and South Vietnam:

1. Vietnamese mixed sweet soup in North Vietnam:

Ingredients:

• Red beans: 200g
• Sweet potatoes: 2
• Taro: 1/4
• Dried tapioca pearls: 200g
• Coconut milk: 100ml
• Sugar (rock sugar is the best): 200g
• Shredded coconut meat (optional)
• Vanilla: 1 tube (optional)
• Banana extract: 10ml (optional)
• Pandan leaves: 3 (optional)

Direction:

Step 1: preparing the ingredients

• Soak red beans in water for 5-6 hours.
• Soak dried tapioca pearls for 30 minutes before cooking.
• Peel, wash and cut taro, sweet potatoes into cubes. Soak them in water mixed with a little salt so that the sweet potato and taro cubes retain their color. Wash the cubes again and drain them off.

Wash and bundle pandan leaves.

Step 2: cooking

• Boil soaked dried tapioca pearls for 15-20 minutes. The pearls turn translucent and taste chewy. After boiling, put the pearls right away into cold water, soak it in cold water for 10 minutes to make the pearls do not stick together.
• Cook red beans with water. The level of water is a little higher than the level of red beans in the pot. Red beans are cooked until tender but not mushy. Add sugar and vanilla. Cook until sugar is dissolved.
• Cook taro and sweet potato cubes with water, pandan leaves until tender. It takes about 10-15 minutes to cook them.

Step 3: serving

• Put red beans, tapioca pearls, taro, sweet potato into a bowl or a glass. Add some shaved ice. Top the dessert with shredded coconut meat. Pour coconut milk on to the dessert. And enjoy the Vietnamese mixed sweet soup in North Vietnam.

2. Vietnamese mixed sweet soup in Central Vietnam:

Ingredients:

• Red beans: 100g
• Peanuts: 50g
• Peeled mung bean: 100g
• Glutinous rice powder: 100g
• Tapioca starch: 100g
• Coconut fruit: 1
• Fresh milk: 200ml
• Sugar: at your wish
• Pandan leaves: 3-4

Direction:

Step 1: preparing and cooking the ingredients

• Soak red beans in water for 2 hours, cook in water until tender but not broken, season the mixture of red beans and water with sugar.
• Soak peeled mung beans in water for 2 hours, steam until well-done. Mash the steamed mung bean until smooth. Form the mashed mung bean into small balls.
• Toast peanuts, peel and crush them. Some cook prefer to not crush the toasted peanuts.
• Mix glutinous rice, tapioca starch and water. Knead for a few minutes to form a dough. Form the dough into small balls. Boil the balls until well-done. Soak the boiled balls in cold water for 10 minutes and drain them off.
• Grind pandan leaves with water, filter the mixture to get a green extract.
• Cut open the coconut, pour the coconut water into a bowl, shred coconut meat.
• Cook coconut water, pandan extract, and fresh milk until boiling. Add sugar and cook until boiling.

Step 2: serving

• Put shaved ice, red beans, mung bean, glutinous rice tapioca balls, the sauce from coconut water, pandan leaf extract into a bowl or a glass. Top the dessert with shredded coconut meat. And enjoy the Vietnamese mixed sweet soup in Central Vietnam.

3. Vietnamese mixed sweet soup in South Vietnam:

Ingredients:

• Red beans: 100g
• Fresh corn: 30g
• Ripe bananas: 2
• Dried green young glutinous rice: 100g
• Dried tapioca pearls: 50g
• Wheat flour: 100g
• Tapioca starch: 100g
• Agar agar powder: 50g
• Coconut milk: 400ml
• Sugar: 200g
• Shredded coconut meat, crushed toasted peanuts: at your wish

Direction:

Step 1: preparing the ingredients

• Soak red beans in water for a few hours.
• Remove the corn from the cob, wash and drain the corn off.
• Soak dried green young glutinous rice in water for 10 minutes, drain off.
• Soak tapioca pearls in water for 10 minutes, drain off.
• Mix glutinous rice and 50g of tapioca starch and water. Knead for a few minutes to form a dough. Form the dough into small balls.
• Peel and cut bananas into slices with a thickness of 1 cm.

Step 2: cooking

• Cook red beans until tender but not mushy. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar. Cook until boiling.
• Cook corn in water until well-done. Add sugar and a mixture of 25g of tapioca starch and cold water to the corn mixture. Cook until sugar is dissolved and the mixture has thickened. Add 50ml of coconut milk and cook until boiling.
• Cook green young glutinous rice like corn.
• Cook tapioca pearls in water and stir regularly until translucent. Add banana and cook until tender. Add a mixture of 25g of tapioca starch and water to the mixture of the pearls and water until the mixture has thickened. Add coconut milk and 2 teaspoons of sugar, continue cooking until boiling.
• Boil wheat flour balls until well-done. Soak the balls in cold water for a while, then drain off.
• Mix agar agar powder, sugar and 300ml of water. Cook the mixture and stir continuously until boiling. Continue cooking and stirring for 10-15 minutes. Pour the mixture into molds. When the mixture in molds is jellied, cut the jellies into cubes or juliennes.

Step 3: serving

• Put red beans, corn, green young glutinous rice, tapioca pearls, wheat flour balls, agar agar jellies into a bowl or a glass. Pour coconut milk into the dessert. Add some shaved ice. Top it with shredded coconut meat, peanuts. And enjoy the Vietnamese mixed sweet soup in South Vietnam.

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