Sweet mung bean soup

"This sweet Vietnamese soup is one of my favourite soups of its kind. In most Asian cultures, there is no real concept of an after-dinner dessert as sweets are usually snacks eaten throughout the day. Beans and lentils combined with coconut and pandan are recurring combinations in nearly all Asian sweet foods. Although served warm, this clear sweet soup, infused with pandan, coconut and the subtle flavour of water chestnut, combined with the mung beans, is a lovely refreshing way to end a meal." Christina Yeow, Poh & Co.

Credit: Poh & Co.

• serves

  8

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 ml coconut cream
• pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp water chestnut powder (from Asian grocers) or arrowroot powder
• 6 fresh or frozen pandan leaves, shredded lengthways by hand, then tied into a knot
• 450 g (2 cups) dried mung beans or yellow lentils, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes, drained
• 660 g (3 cups) caster sugar 

Soaking time 30 minutes

Instructions

Place the coconut cream and salt in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Mix the water chestnut powder with 125 ml (½ cup) cold water and set aside.

Bring 2 litres of water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add the pandan leaves, drained mung beans or lentils and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender but still firm and holding their shape. Stir in most of the sugar and check for sweetness, then add the remaining sugar if necessary. Lastly, stir in the water chestnut mixture and simmer over low heat just until thickened. You may like to stir in a little hot water as some prefer their soup thin, while others prefer it thick. Ladle the hot soup into bowls, drizzle with the coconut cream and serve immediately. 

This recipe is from Poh & Co. Airs 8pm Thursdays on SBS ONE.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.