Chè Ba Màu - Vietnamese Three Color Dessert

Mung bean layer

1. Rinse ½ cup of mung bean under running water.
2. In a container, add ½ cup dried mung bean and four cups of water. Soak the beans for at least four hours or overnight.
3. After soaking, drain the mung beans and add to your rice cooker. Add ¾ cup of water and close the lid. Use the regular rice option or put a 40 minute timer to cook the beans.
4. After the rice cooker is done, use your paddle to mash the beans (this should be very easy since the beans have softened immensely). Add three tablespoons of sugar and continue to mash and mix. Move to a container to rest, and cool in the fridge until assembly.

Pandan jelly layer

1. In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil and mix in the agar agar and sugar until it thoroughly dissolves. Lower the heat and add the pandan extract. Mix this until the liquid turns green and move to a glass container to cool.
2. When it’s at room temperature, move to the fridge to chill for two hours. The pandan jelly should be firm to the touch and easily remove from the glass container.
3. Cut the jelly into your preferred shape to eat. I prefer small bite-sized squares or thin strips.

Coconut sauce

1. In a saucepan, mix together the coconut cream, sugar, and salt over medium heat.
2. Add the tapioca starch carefully with a whisk. Cook for about one to two minutes until it thickens to the consistency of diluted pudding.
3. Remove from the heat and move to a glass container to cool. Chill in the fridge until time of assembly.

Assembly

1. I like to fridge all the layers at least 30 minutes before assembly to keep everything cold, this is optional.
2. For the shaved ice, I used about four cups of ice and an ice shaving machine, but you can also use a strong blender.
3. I prefer to layer the ingredients in this way: shaved ice, red bean paste, mung beans, pandan jelly, shaved ice, and coconut sauce. You can add mini layers of ice in between to make it extra cold and break up the dense beans too.