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Chè bưởi (pomelo pith pudding)
Chè bưởi: crunchy candied pomelo pith and mung beans in a sweet tapioca soup with coconut milk
Cần Thơ and Vĩnh Long, deep in the Mekong Delta's pomelo country, turn the thick white pith of the fruit into this thrifty, much-loved sweet soup. After salting and rinsing away its bitterness, the pith is coated in tapioca starch and cooked into clear, crunchy-chewy nuggets, served with soft split mung beans and a swirl of coconut milk. Sold at Saigon chè stalls, it is eaten cold or warm. Chef's tip: wash and squeeze the salted pith in several changes of water until it tastes neutral; one rinse leaves the whole pot bitter.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
Pomelo pith
- 9 oz pomelo pithwhite part from 1 large pomelo, green zest cut off, diced 1 cm
- 2 tbsp saltfor soaking
- 2 tbsp sugarfor the pith
- 1 ¾ oz tapioca starchfor coating
Soup
- 3 ½ oz split peeled mung beanssoaked 2 hours
- 4 oz sugar
- 2 pandan leavesknotted
- 2 tbsp tapioca starchmixed with 4 tbsp water
- 1 cup coconut milkwarmed with a pinch of salt
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Soak 9 oz pomelo pith in 1 litre of water with 2 tbsp salt for 30 minutes, pressing it under now and then. Then squeeze hard and rinse in fresh water; repeat squeezing and rinsing 4–5 times until a piece tastes neutral, not bitter.
40 minStep 2: Toss the squeezed pith with 2 tbsp sugar and leave 10 minutes, then toss with 1 ¾ oz tapioca starch until every cube is thickly coated, shaking off the excess.
12 minStep 3: Steam 3 ½ oz split peeled mung beans for 20 minutes, until they crush easily between your fingers.
20 minStep 4: Drop the coated pith into a large pan of boiling water and cook until the cubes float and turn clear, about 3–4 minutes. Lift into a bowl of cold water.
4 minStep 5: Bring 1.2 litres of water with 4 oz sugar and 2 pandan leaves to the boil. Stir in 2 tbsp tapioca starch and simmer until the soup turns lightly glossy, then add the mung beans and drained pith and heat through for 2 minutes.
6 minStep 6: Remove the pandan. Serve warm or chilled with a spoonful of 1 cup coconut milk over each bowl.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chè bưởi (pomelo pith pudding) take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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