Facts About Chè trôi nước
Chè trôi nước is a Vietnamese dessert made of glutinous rice filled with mung bean paste bathed in a sweet clear or brown liquid made of water, sugar, and grated ginger root. It is generally warmed before eating and garnished with sesame seeds and coconut milk. It is often served during Lunar New Year or more recently, served in the Cold-Eating Festival.
Two northern Vietnamese desserts, bánh trôi (also called bánh trôi nước) and bánh chay, are similar to chè trôi nước (description of it stated above). Chè trôi nước is also similar to a Chinese dish called tangyuan.
How to make "Chè trôi nước"
Source:
Ingredients
Instructions
- To make the filling, wash the mung beans a few times and soak in water for at least 1 hour. Cook in a rice cooker with 1 cup water until soft. Add salt, crispy fried shallot, vegetable oil to the cooked mung bean, and grind into a paste with a pestle or a food processor. Grease your hands with vegetable oil and shape the mung bean paste into balls, each about 1 tablespoon worth.
- To make the dough, add 360 ml (1.5 cup) lukewarm water (40-60°C) into the glutinous rice flour gradually and mix well. Knead for a few minutes to form a dough. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes. Then knead again for a few more minutes. The water amount might vary a bit depending on the quality of the flour.
- To shape the dumplings, grease your hands with vegetable oil. Pinch a piece of dough and make into a ball. Flatten it out into a 1 cm (1/8 in) thick disk. Place a mung bean ball in the center. Pinch the edges together to seal. Try to avoid gaps between the dough and the filling ball. Roll between the palms to form a smooth ball. Place the glutinous balls on a baking sheet or a greased plate to avoid sticking.
- To cook the dumplings, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Gently drop in the balls and cook on medium heat until they float to the surface (about 5 mins). Transfer the cooked dumplings into a bowl of cold water.
- To make the ginger syrup, in a large sauce pan, combine water, sugar, salt and ginger and bring to a boil. Then simmer on medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes so that ginger infuses the syrup. Transfer the cooked dumplings to the syrup and sprinkle roasted sesame on top.
- To make "banh troi", use diced cane sugar as filling instead of mung bean paste. The balls are much smaller in size (abt 3cm diameter). Serve separately without ginger syrup
Laos