Che Buoi (An Giang Pomelo Sweet Soup), No Added Refined Sugar
Sweets and drinksSweet SoupsVietnam15 minutes preparation, 45 minutes cooking
Che buoi from An Giang is loved for the snap of the pomelo pith under a thick pour of coconut milk. The hardest part is taking out the bitterness, since a scrap of green peel left on or too few rinses turns the whole pot bitter.
The pith is blanched for fifteen seconds, rinsed three or four more times, wrung out hard, coated in tapioca starch and boiled in syrup for about six minutes. It is ladled into bowls with a spoonful of coconut milk poured over, eaten hot, with shaved ice for anyone who wants it cold.
This batch weighs about 2.3kg, at roughly 70 calories per 100g.
Method
Soak 100g of split mung beans in 300ml of water for about 4 hours until soft, rinse them and put them in a steamer basket. Set the basket over a pot with 500ml of water, steam over high heat for 5 minutes to come to the boil, then lower the heat and steam another 20 minutes until the beans are tender.
Peel away all the green skin from a 600g pomelo, score a few lines around the pith and pull it off. Trim away some of the spongy inside and cut the pith into small dice.
Bring 250ml of water with half a teaspoon of fine salt to the boil, add the pomelo pith, stir quickly for 15 seconds, then tip it into a sieve. Rinse the pith 3 to 4 times until no bitterness remains on tasting, then wring it out hard.
Mix 45g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 50g of tapioca starch into 150ml of cooled boiled water, add the wrung out pith and stir until it plumps up again, then scatter on another 60g of tapioca starch and toss gently to coat.
Cook 1 litre of water with 225g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, stirring constantly until dissolved, cover and cook another 2 minutes to boil, then drop in the pomelo pith and boil over medium heat for about 6 minutes. Once the pith is translucent and no raw starch remains, lift it into a bowl of cold water so it stays snappy.
Mix 50g of tapioca starch with 15ml of cool water. Heat 100ml of coconut milk over low heat for about 2 minutes, then pour the starch mixture in slowly and stir for about 5 minutes until it thickens, then take it off the heat.
Mix the remaining 35g of tapioca starch with 65ml of water and pour it slowly into the pot of syrup, stirring over low heat until the starch cooks and the liquid thickens slightly. Add the steamed mung beans and stir for 5 minutes, then drain the pomelo pith, add it to the pot, stir gently and take it off the heat.
Ladle into bowls and pour a tablespoon of the thickened coconut milk over the top.
Tips
Peeling away every trace of green skin, then blanching and rinsing repeatedly, is what takes the bitterness out of the pith.
The pith should not be boiled too long, so it keeps its snap.
Wringing the pith out hard before it meets the tapioca starch matters, since wet pith will not hold the coating.
The tapioca starch goes in very slowly with steady stirring, as pouring it all at once makes the pot lumpy.
Hot is how this eats best, while cold brings out the light cooling finish of the monk fruit more clearly.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.