Red Bean Soup
In China, red bean soup is a popular dish. It is categorized as a tang shui, (literally translated as sugar water), or sweet soup. It is often served cold during the summer, and hot in the winter. Leftover red bean soup can also be frozen to make ice pops.
It is one of the main desserts offered after a meal in most Chinese restaurants. When served, it is plain most of the time. The fancier restaurants may offer red bean soup with sago or sometimes with glutinous rice balls.
This is a wonderful dessert that you can serve hot or cold after a meal. It tastes amazingly fresh, perfect for summer. You can prepare it yourself in the comfort of your own home.
Ingredients:
- 500 gram red bean
- 200 gram granulated sugar
- a pot of clean water
Methods:
- Sieve red beans using a sieve and pick out small pebbles or stones among the red beans.
- Wash the red beans under running tap water. Make sure the red beans are cleaned thoroughly
- Put in red beans into a pot of clean water
- Heat the pot on the stove and keep it to boil
- Open the cover of the pot to avoid water from flowing out
- Boil it for approximately one hour
- Use a ladle to scoop up some red beans
- Examine the red beans. If the red beans split open means that they are well-cooked
- Put in granulated sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved
- Keep it aside to cool. When it is cooled enough, pour the red bean soup into a bowl.
Now, your sweet and delicious red bean soup is ready to be served. Put some ice cubes to enhance its taste. Feel free and relaxing while having a bowl of red bean soup particularly during summer and spring time.
Red bean soup serves better when it is chilled. You may also freeze the red bean soup to make some red bean ice cream ice stick or popsicle.
Vocabulary:
xī mǐ
西 米 Sago
fāng táng
方 糖 Sliced sugar n.
táng shuǐ
糖 水 Sweet soup n.
bīng bàng
冰 棒 Popsicle n.
tāng yuán
汤 圆 glutinous rice balls n.
