Recipes / Sweets and drinks / Sweet Soups

Che Ba Cot (Ginger and Glutinous Rice Che)

Name: Che Ba Cot (Ginger and Glutinous Rice Che)
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 250g glutinous rice; 3 pieces of ginger; 135g kOBE Monk Fruit Sugar Blend; 2 teaspoons kOBE Monk Fruit Sugar Blend; half a teaspoon of salt

Sweets and drinksSweet SoupsVietnamabout 45 minutes

Che Ba Cot (Ginger and Glutinous Rice Che) served in a speckled stoneware bowl, made with glutinous rice, kOBE monk fruit

Che ba cot warms the stomach on a cold day, and the smell of charred ginger fills the kitchen. The hard part is watching the rice, since cooking it too long turns the pot stiff.

The ginger is charred over a flame for aroma and only then peeled, half cut into threads and half crushed for its juice. The pot simmers over low heat until the grains burst open and the che thickens slightly. Stir the bottom a few times along the way.

This batch weighs about 488g, at roughly 213 calories per 100g.

Method

Rinse 250g glutinous rice through 2 to 3 changes of water and drain it.
Char 3 pieces of ginger over a flame until fragrant, then peel and wash them. Cut half into fine threads and crush the rest to squeeze out the juice.
Put 3 liters of water and 135g kOBE Monk Fruit Sugar Blend into a pot, stir to dissolve, cover, and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add the glutinous rice, the ginger juice, the ginger threads, half a teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons kOBE Monk Fruit Sugar Blend.
Simmer over low heat until the grains are soft and burst open and the che has thickened slightly.

Tips

Roasting the ginger before squeezing out the juice gives the soup a deep, warming aroma.
Use ginger both shredded and juiced, since one alone leaves the soup short on either aroma or bite.
Stir the bottom of the pot a few times while it cooks, as settled rice scorches.
Cook over low heat with the lid ajar so the pot does not boil over.
In the north this soup is often eaten with xoi vo.