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Che Ba Mau (Vietnamese Three Color Dessert)

Layered dessert in a glass with yellow cake, blueberries, green jelly, whipped cream, and crushed ice on top.
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Che ba mau is the Vietnamese three color dessert: sweet mung bean paste, glossy red beans and bright pandan jelly layered in a glass under crushed ice and cold coconut sauce. It is naturally vegan, needs no special equipment, and comes together in one afternoon.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Red bean layer

  • 1/2 cup (100 g) dried adzuki (red) beans, soaked overnight, or 1 cup canned sweetened red beans, drained
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • Pinch of salt

Mung bean layer

  • 1/2 cup (100 g) split skinned mung beans (mung dal), soaked 2 hours
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons coconut milk

Pandan jelly layer

  • 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water
  • 1 teaspoon agar agar powder
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pandan extract, or a small handful of fresh or frozen pandan leaves, blended and strained

Coconut sauce

  • 1 cup (240 ml) coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch, optional, for a slightly thicker sauce

To serve

  • Crushed or finely shaved ice

Instructions

  1. If you are starting from dried red beans, drain the soaked beans, cover them with fresh water and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes until they are tender enough to crush against the side of the pan. Drain, return them to the pan with the sugar and salt, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until glossy. Cool completely. Skip this step entirely if you are using canned sweetened red beans.
  2. Drain the soaked mung beans and steam them, or simmer them with a splash of water, for 15 to 20 minutes until very soft.
  3. Mash the hot mung beans with the sugar, salt and coconut milk into a smooth, thick paste. Cool.
  4. Whisk the agar agar into the water in a saucepan and let it sit for 5 minutes to hydrate. Bring it to a boil, whisking, then add the sugar and pandan extract and boil for 2 minutes until the agar has fully dissolved.
  5. Pour the pandan mixture into a shallow dish, cool, then chill until firm, about 1 hour. Cut it into thin strips or small cubes.
  6. Whisk the coconut milk, sugar and salt together in a saucepan, adding the cornstarch slurried in a little water if you want a thicker sauce. Warm over medium heat until the sugar dissolves and it just thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool.
  7. In tall clear glasses, spoon in a layer of mung bean paste, then a layer of sweetened red beans, then a layer of pandan jelly.
  8. Top with a generous mound of crushed or finely shaved ice.
  9. Pour the cold coconut sauce over the ice just before serving. Serve with a long spoon and stir everything together before eating.

Notes

  • Shortcut: canned sweetened red beans plus store bought pandan jelly bring this down to about 45 minutes of active work.
  • Use agar agar, not gelatin. Agar sets firm at room temperature and holds its shape against the ice, while gelatin melts away too quickly.
  • No pandan extract? Steep fresh or frozen pandan leaves in the jelly water and strain, or use a few drops of pandan paste. A tiny amount of matcha will give you the green colour in a pinch, though the flavour is different.
  • Naturally vegan: as written, every component is plant based.
  • Make ahead: all four components keep for 2 to 3 days chilled in separate containers. Assemble to order so the layers stay crisp and distinct.
  • Troubleshooting: jelly that will not set means too little agar or too short a boil, a grainy mung layer means the beans were undercooked before mashing, and muddy layers mean it was assembled too far ahead.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://zhangcatherine.com/che-ba-mau/