Chè Đậu Trắng (Rice Pudding with Black Eyed Peas)
Chè đậu trắng is a Vietnamese sticky rice pudding with black eyed peas and coconut sauce. It’s a simple yet comforting dessert that’s not too sweet!
What is Chè Đậu Trắng?
Chè đậu trắng is a comforting Vietnamese dessert made with humble ingredients.
Chè is a category of Vietnamese desserts that’s like a beverage, soup, or pudding.
Đậu trắng translates to white beans or black eyed peas.
This dessert is a Vietnamese sticky rice pudding with black eyed peas that’s topped with a creamy coconut sauce.
It’s warm, cozy, comforting, and like many Asian desserts, not too sweet.
The texture of the sticky rice pudding is creamy, contrasted with nutty bites of black eyed peas, and the coconut sauce topping makes it simply irresistible.
Chè đậu trắng was one of my childhood friend’s favorite growing up and my mom still makes it for her to this day.
I promise once you try it, you’ll love it too!
RELATED: HOW TO MAKE MANGO STICKY RICE WITH COCONUT SAUCE
Chè Đậu Trắng Ingredients
Before you begin making this chè đậu trắng recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Glutinous Rice: Also known as sticky or sweet rice. It has a satisfying chewy texture when cooked. You can find this at your local Asian grocery store. Use short-grain sushi rice as a substitute.
- Water: A neutral base to cook the rice. Since this is a rice pudding, you will need to use more water than you typically would for regular rice.
- Pandan: Fresh knotted pandan leaves are best for this recipe to infuse a grassy vanilla and coconut flavor into the rice. It’s usually sold at the Asian grocery store, although not always common to find. Use vanilla extract as a substitute. You can also use pandan extract, however it is very strong so only use a couple drops, it might turn your rice green.
- Black Eyed Peas: Beans with a distinctive black spot that adds texture, nuttiness, and savoriness to this dessert. I’m using canned Goya black eyed peas for a quick and easy shortcut.
- Sugar: White sugar is the sweetener. You can also use palm sugar, coconut sugar, or your favorite alternative.
- Salt: A little bit of salt balances out the sweetness.
- Coconut Sauce: The rich, subtly sweet topping for the sticky rice pudding. It’s made with coconut milk, sugar, salt, and tapioca starch slurry.
- Coconut Milk: The base for the coconut sauce to make it super creamy and irresistible.
- Tapioca Starch Slurry: A mixture of tapioca starch and water to thicken the sauce. Cornstarch can be used as a substitute. Tapioca starch thickens at a lower temperature and has a more glossy finish.
RELATED: HOW TO MAKE UBE PANCAKES WITH UBE COCONUT SAUCE
How to Make Chè Đậu Trắng
Once you’ve gathered all the ingredients, this Vietnamese sticky rice pudding recipe is super easy to make!
This recipe only takes 20 minutes and makes 4 servings. It’s great as leftovers as well!
Let’s get started and walk through how to make chè đậu trắng step-by-step so you can easily recreate it at home.
As always, there is a recipe card at the end that you to print out, pin to Pinterest, or save for later!
RELATED: HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN CONGEE (VIETNAMESE CHÁO GÀ) EASY RECIPE
Step 1: Cook Sticky Rice
Start by washing glutinous rice. You can do this in a large bowl or strainer.
Rinse a few times until the water runs clear-ish.
Then to a pot, add the rice, water, and knotted pandan leaves (or vanilla extract).
Cook uncovered on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the pot.
I am using a 3-quart Caraway sauce pan.
The rice should be gently simmering, not a vigorous rolling boil.
After the 10 minutes, remove and discard the pandan leaves.
Step 2: Add Black Eyed Peas
If using canned black eyed peas, rinse it thoroughly with water.
Once the rice has softened, add the black eyed peas, sugar, and salt into the same pot.
Mix together to evenly incorporate the ingredients into the chè đậu trắng.
Simmer to dissolve the sugar and until it is to the consistency of your liking. It should be like porridge or oatmeal.
Add more water as needed if the rice pudding is too thick.
Inversely, simmer longer to evaporate the liquid if it is too thin. Keep in mind that the rice pudding will also thicken as it sits.
I like this dessert to be very subtly sweet but make sure to taste test and adjust any of the ingredients to your own preference.
Step 3: Make the Coconut Sauce
While the rice pudding is cooking, make the coconut sauce topping. It takes less than 10 minutes.
Start by preparing the tapioca starch slurry by mixing together tapioca starch and water.
Making a slurry will help the tapioca starch incorporate easily into the sauce versus adding just dry powder.
Stir the slurry until it is well combined. You don’t want any clumps because that will also make the sauce clumpy.
Then in a separate small saucepan from the sticky rice pudding, combine coconut milk, sugar, salt, and the tapioca starch slurry.
Simmer for a few minutes on low to medium heat, constantly stirring until the sauce is smooth and thickens evenly.
Step 4: Serve & Enjoy
Lastly, serve the chè đậu trắng in small bowls.
It is best to eat warm for maximum coziness!
One serving is approximately 1 cup of the sticky rice pudding.
Top with a generous scoop of the thick, creamy coconut sauce and enjoy!
RELATED: CENTURY EGG CONGEE WITH PORK (CHÁO TRỨNG BÁCH THẢO)
Leftover Storage & Reheating
If you have any leftover chè đậu trắng, then place the sticky rice pudding and coconut sauce separately each into its own sealed container.
You can store it in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days.
Reheat sticky rice and coconut sauce covered in the microwave or on low heat on the stove.
Only heat the amount you want to eat. Avoid reheating multiple times because that can dry it out.
Additionally, the sticky rice pudding and coconut sauce should be reheated separately.
This is so the coconut sauce can be used as a topping and not absorb into the rice.
More Viet Recipes To Complete Your Meal:
Now that you have the chè đậu trắng recipe for dessert, complete your Vietnamese meal with a rice, soup, and meat dish!
All are essential components of a Vietnamese homestyle meal.
Save This Chè Đậu Trắng Recipe!
I hope this Vietnamese sticky rice pudding tutorial is helpful and that you try to recreate this delicious dessert at home!
It’s simple to make but so cozy and comforting.
Be sure to save this recipe and share it with your family and friends!
If you make this chè đậu trắng, I’d love to hear what you think! Please let me know by leaving a rating and comment below.
Did you make this recipe? I would love to see! Tag me on IG @feedmi_ or TikTok @feedmi
Chè Đậu Trắng (Rice Pudding with Black Eyed Peas)
Ingredients
Rice Pudding
- 1 cup glutinous rice (sweet rice, sticky rice)
- 4 cups water
- 4 pandan leaves, knotted (substitute with ½ tsp vanilla extract)
- 1 cup (8 oz) black eyed peas, cooked
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
Coconut Sauce
- 1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
- 1 tbsp sugar
- a pinch salt
Tapioca Starch Slurry
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Wash and rinse glutinous rice. Add rice, water, and pandan (or vanilla extract) to a pot. Cook uncovered on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn't stick to the pot.
- Add black eyed peas, sugar, salt, and mix together. Simmer until it is to the consistency of your liking. Add more water as needed, taste test, and adjust to your preference.
- In a separate small saucepan on low to medium heat, combine coconut milk, sugar, salt, and the tapioca starch slurry. Simmer for a few minutes constantly stirring until the sauce thickens evenly.
- Serve the sticky rice pudding warm in small bowls, top with the coconut sauce, and enjoy!
You don’t say how to cook the black eye peas. Please advise