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Qingbuliang
Qīngbǔliáng (清补凉): Hainan's iced coconut-milk dessert soup with beans, sago, jelly and fruit
On hot evenings in Haikou, night-market stalls ladle this into bowls: coconut milk poured over red beans, mung beans, sago pearls, cubes of jelly and fresh tropical fruit, with a scoop of shaved ice on top. The name roughly means 'clearing, nourishing, cooling', and Hainan people eat it to cool down in their long summer. Everything except the fruit can be cooked a day ahead and chilled. Chef's tip: cook each bean separately; they soften at different speeds.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the toppings
For the coconut milk
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Simmer 2 ⅛ oz dried adzuki (red) beans in plenty of water for 45–50 minutes, until soft but whole. Simmer 2 ⅛ oz dried mung beans separately for 20–25 minutes, until just tender. Drain both and stir 2 tbsp of 1 ⅛ oz sugar through them while warm.
50 minStep 2: Bring a pan of water to a rolling boil and add 1 ⅜ oz small sago or tapioca pearls. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring often, then turn off the heat, cover and leave for 10 minutes until the pearls are clear with no white dot in the middle.
20 minStep 3: Common mistake: adding sago to water that isn't boiling, which makes it dissolve into a gluey mass. Drain and rinse under cold water so the pearls don't stick.
Step 4: Stir the remaining 1 ⅔ oz sugar into 1 ¾ cups coconut milk with ¾ cup cold water until dissolved. Chill everything for at least 1 hour.
Step 5: To serve, put a spoonful each of beans, sago and 7 oz grass jelly or coconut jelly (nata de coco) in each bowl, then add 7 oz watermelon, 5 ½ oz pineapple and 3 tbsp cooked or roasted peanuts. Pour over the coconut milk and top with 4 handfuls crushed ice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 64 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does qingbuliang take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 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.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
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