Chè Trôi Nước Bột Báng (Mung Bean Tapioca Pearls with Ginger Syrup Dessert )

As I promised, I finally had my hands at making these delicious Mung Bean Tapioca Pearls dessert again.

This Chè Trôi Nước Bột Báng is similar to Chè Trôi Nước (Mung Bean Mochi with Ginger Syrup) which I made back in June. Feel free to click on the link for further details.

The only difference is Chè Trôi Nước Bột Báng is made with TAPIOCA PEARLS while Chè Trôi Nước is made of glutenous or sweet rice. I use the same mung bean paste filling for both chè.

My plan was to make two batches of Chè in two types of tapioca pearls (green pandan and the basic white tapioca pearls) but I ended up finishing only one batch as I was busy preparing Lẩu Vịt Nấu Chao/Duck Cooked in Fermented Bean Curds (please stay tuned) for dinner at the same time. Therefore I had to store the remaining mixed tapioca pearls and mung bean in the fridge for a couple days and just finished making them all today.

It was a little bit harder to work with tapioca pearls on the first batch. The tapioca stuck to my hands even though I had oil on my hands to prevent it. I found the tapioca to be much easier to handle when kept cold in the fridge and your hands moist with water instead of oil while working with it. The second batch took me half of the time compare to the first batch.

For those who like tapioca pearls, this dessert has a distinctively chewy soft texture of the tapioca pearls; the tasty mung bean filling is packed with flavors; it's fused with pepper, salt, sugar and the wonderful aroma of fried shallot mixed with mashed mung beans; the rich taste of coconut milk and the sweet ginger and pandan flavor syrup that is made with white sugar - which I much prefer over brown sugar - syrup will delight your palate.

As you can see how much I love to incorporate pandan leaf in my cooking. I love its distinctive aroma which instaneously will enhance the taste of dish be it desserts or main course. Pandan leaf's unique taste blends beautifully with coconut milk.

RECIPE: Chè Trôi Nước Bột Báng
Make about 23 Balls
*
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

For Dough

1 bag Tapioca Pearls (Bột Báng)

3 cups Water

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

For Mung Bean Filling

1 bag (16oz) Peeled and Split Mung Bean (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Coconut Milk

1 1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Ground Pepper

1/3 cup Fried Shallot (about 3 shallots)

1 tablespoon Oil from Frying Shallot

1-2 Pandan Leaves, tied together

For Ginger Syrup

1 1/2 cups Sugar

Fresh Ginger, peeled and julienned into small strips or any shapes you prefer, make 5 tabelspoons of ginger

5 cups Water

2-3 Pandan Leaves, tied together

For Coconut Sauce

1 can of coconut milk (13.5 oz)

1/2 teaspoon Salt

3 tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract or Pandan Leave, tied together

1 tablespoon Water + 1 teaspoon Tapioca Flour, mixed well

Accompaniments

1/4 cup Roasted Sesame Seeds

1 can Coconut Milk

Prepare Roasted Sesame Seeds

Roast sesame seeds by frying in a pan and stir until golden brown

Prepare Coconut Sauce

If using pandan leave, tie it into a short string. Bring the sugar, salt, pandan leave and coconut milk to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the tapioca flour mixture and stir it at the same time. Add vanilla extract if you don't use panda leave. Pour coconut sauce into a bowl and set aside.

Prepare Tapioca Pearls

Place tapioca pearls in a large bowl. Set it aside.

Bring water to boil. Add salt, sugar and stir it well until dissovled.

Pour the boil water mixture into the tapioca pearls bowl and mix it well. Set it aside for about one hour or two. Place in the fridge after that if prefer.

Prepare Mung Bean Filling

Soak mung beans overnight so it is quicker to cook them but this step is optional. Most of the time, I skip this step because I usually decide to make it at the last minute; come on, there's some of you out there that cooks on the fly like me. Rinse and drain the beans. In a pot, add 1 cup of coconut milk and 1 1/2 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt and bring it to boil. Reduce the heat to low, stir it and cook with lid on for about 15 minutes or until soft. Add 1/2 cup of sugar, mash it and cook it for another 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients to the mung bean pot. Mix it well. Divide bean paste into 23 balls.

Making Ginger Syrup

In a pot add in the water, sugar, pandan leaves and ginger. Boil until sugar dissolved. Reduce the heat to low.

Assembling Mung Bean Tapioca Pearl

Scoop up a big spoon of tapioca pearls about 1 and 1/2 size of the mung bean ball.
Make sure to keep your hands moist with water.

Flatten the tapioca pearl and add in the mung bean paste ball.

Wrap it up and make a round ball in circular motion with your palms. Repeat for the rest of mung bean balls and tapioca pearls. Use the remaining tapioca pearls to make it into small balls without the filling.

I kept these remaining tapioca pearls in the fridge for two days. I found it to be much easier to handle when kept cold in the fridge and your hands moist with water.

Cooking Mung Bean Tapioca Pearls

Bring a pot of water to boil. Drop just enough of the mung bean tapioca pearl balls into the boiling pot. Tapioca pearl balls are done when they float. Let it cook for another 5 minutes to ensure it cooks all the way. Remove the tapioca pearl balls and drop them in the simmering ginger syrup pot. Keep the syrup pot on low heat so that the syrup absorb into the tapioca pearl balls as this will make them taste better.

Presentation

Place tapioca pearl balls and the syrup with a few pieces of gingers into a dessert bowl. Drizzle coconut sauce over them and top off with a sprinkle of roasted sesame seeds.