How to Make Che Dua Nuoc (Mixed Bean and Nipa Palm Che)

Method

1. Split each nipa palm fruit in half, scoop out the flesh, rinse it, and drain. Trim the pandan leaf, wash it, and tie it into a bundle.
2. Soak 4 teaspoons tapioca starch for 15 to 45 minutes and soak 20g kombu kelp for 10 to 15 minutes until it swells.
3. Soak the white beans, hyacinth beans, pinto beans and lotus seeds for at least 4 hours or overnight, then drain.
4. Boil the beans and lotus seeds over high heat for 20 to 30 minutes, and lift them out once tender.
5. Mix 50g coconut milk powder with 250ml water and cook over low heat for 10 minutes until smooth and thick.
6. Cook 300ml water with 90g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 50g pandan leaf and 200g nipa palm fruit for 10 minutes.
7. Add the tapioca, the beans and half a teaspoon of salt, and cook for another 10 minutes.
8. Lift out the pandan leaf, add the kombu kelp and all of the coconut mixture, cook for another 7 to 10 minutes, and turn off the heat.

Tips

• Nipa palm flesh sold already shelled saves a good deal of work.
• Soak the beans overnight before boiling so the different kinds cook evenly.
• This one is better cold with a scattering of toasted peanuts.
• The sweetness reads more clearly once the soup has cooled a little, so hold off on adjusting it while it is piping hot.
• Soak and cook the dried tapioca strips (bot khoai) separately before they go into the pot, since cooking them together clouds the soup.