Chè Thập Cẩm (Vietnamese Mixed Bean Sweet Soup)

1. Cook the Beans

• Rinse all types of beans thoroughly and drain. Add 2 liters of water to the pot and soak the beans for about 1 hour.
• After soaking, place the beans in the electric pressure cooker. Set it to the “Beans” or “Legumes” mode and cook for 40 minutes

2. Make the Sweet Soup

• While waiting for the beans to cook, soak the tapioca pearls or sweet potato balls (bột khoai) in water for 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
• In a separate pot, add 1.5 liters of water, the soaked tapioca pearls, pandan leaves, and 250g rock sugar. Cook over high heat.
• Once the sugar has dissolved and the water comes to a gentle boil (indicating the tapioca is softening), reduce the heat and add the cooked beans. Simmer gently over low heat.
• Add 200ml of coconut milk and stir to combine.
• In a small bowl, mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of water. Slowly pour this mixture into the pot while stirring continuously to thicken the dessert. Once it reaches a slightly thick consistency, turn off the heat.

Note: Pour the cornstarch mixture in slowly while stirring constantly to avoid lumps at the bottom or sides of the pot.

3. Prepare the Coconut Sauce

• In another pot, add the remaining 200ml coconut milk along with 4 teaspoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 4 teaspoons of cornstarch. You can also add a few pandan leaves for extra fragrance.
• Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil, then turn off the heat.

4. Final Product

• And that’s it! Your Vietnamese mixed bean sweet soup made with an electric pressure cooker is ready to enjoy.
• Each spoonful offers a harmony of textures and flavors—soft, nutty beans, chewy tapioca pearls, and creamy coconut milk. It’s a colorful, comforting dessert that’s perfect for cooling off or serving at gatherings.

Vietnamese Sweet Dessert Medley – A Taste of Street Food and Memory

Not a lavish delicacy, nor a dish served in fine dining restaurants, yet a humble cup of chè thập cẩm enjoyed on the bustling sidewalks of Vietnam can open the door to an entire world of memory – where food and people intertwine in every cooling, sweet spoonful.

This colorful dessert has long been a staple of Vietnamese street food culture. You’ll find it just about anywhere – from vendors with bamboo baskets nestled deep in alleyways to small plastic stools set up by the roadside. Regardless of age or status, anyone can sit down, hold a plastic spoon, and savor the sweetness of a dessert that’s as simple as it is soulful.

Each cup is a harmonious blend of textures and flavors: buttery mung beans, tender red beans, chewy cassava pearls, all bathed in creamy coconut milk. It’s a quiet symphony of everyday ingredients, echoing the way Vietnamese people live – together, balanced, and generous.

At times, if you’re lucky, you might find yourself at a humble street stall where an elderly man or woman sits quietly with a bowl of chè, slowly stirring, slowly smiling. They might begin to speak – softly at first – about old Hanoi: of the black-and-white films at outdoor cinemas, of queues for dessert on warm summer evenings, or of a time when coconut milk and mung beans were the taste of joy. Their laughter rises with the scent of pandan leaves and palm sugar, and suddenly, this little bowl becomes more than dessert – it becomes a storyteller.

That’s why chè thập cẩm is more than just a dish – it’s a vessel of memories, layered with sweetness, history, and human connection.

(Full cups of Vietnamese Mixed Bean Sweet Soup and plastic tables and chairs have become the signature image of Vietnamese streets.)