Che Dau Trang Khoai Mon (White Bean and Taro Sweet Soup), Sweetened with Monk Fruit

Method

1. Rinse 300 g of white beans, pick out the shrivelled and damaged ones, then drain. Soak the beans until soft, put them in a pot and cook until tender, then lift them into a colander.
2. Peel 300 g of taro, cut it into bite sized pieces and soak them in lightly salted water to draw out the sap. Drain the taro, then steam it until cooked through.
3. Put 200 g of grated coconut in a bowl, add warm water and squeeze out the thick coconut cream. Bring the cream to a boil with a little salt, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
4. Dissolve 50 g of tapioca starch in a little water, pour it slowly into the coconut cream and stir steadily until the cream thickens.
5. Add warm water to the grated coconut a second time and squeeze out the thin coconut milk for cooking the che.
6. Bring the thin coconut milk to a boil, add the white beans, the taro and 180g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, then stir so the sweetness soaks in.
7. Once the che comes back to a boil, add 2 vials of vanilla powder and turn off the heat. Ladle into bowls and spoon the thickened coconut cream over the top.

Tips

• Soaking the taro in lightly salted water draws out the sap and keeps the pieces from darkening.
• Squeezing the grated coconut twice gives a thick cream for the top and a thin milk for the pot, so the che is fragrant without being heavy.
• Steam the taro separately and add it at the end, since cooking it in the pot from the start turns it to paste.
• The sweetness reads more clearly once the che cools a little, so hold off on adjusting it while the pot is still very hot.
• Lift the white beans out as soon as they soften, since simmering on in the pot breaks them apart.