The Asian Vegetarian Wife

Healthy Vegan Vietnamese Desert "Che y"

Ingredients:

3 inch ginger root
3 cups of Sugar
8 grams of Vanilla Flavored Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1 lb. Glutinous Rice Flour
5 1/2 cups of warm Water
1 tbs Olive Oil
3 tbs Tapioca Starch

Optional:
1 cup of roasted peanuts
2 food coloring (your choice)

Step 1: (Making the Tapioca Pearls)

Start with a bag of glutinous rice flour- slowly add in 1 1/2 cups of warm water (while Kneading) and 1 Tbsp of olive oil and 3 Tbsp of tapioca starch. Now start kneading that dough throughly!! =p

Start by pouring the bag of Glutinous Rice Flour into a large bowl. Slowly add in 1.5 cups of warm water while kneading with your hands. (This means you will be adding 1.5 cups of warm water until the flour becomes one dough.) Right before you add in the last amount of warm water you have left, add in 1 tbsp of Olive Oil and 3 tbsp of Tapioca starch. Now continue to knead that flour mixture until the flour does not stick to the bowl. This process will take a while, unless you have the strength of an arm wrestler. It took me 20-30 minutes. I had to stop and rest my arms for a bit, maybe you will have better luck with the kneading than weak-me. = p

Step 2: (Coloring the Tapioca Pearls)

After kneading - split the dough into 3 seperate containers and add your food colors (my red turned to pink and i just use 5 drops) knead it some more until the flour stop sticking to the bowl

After all that kneading, SPLIT the dough into three separate bowls and now add your food coloring. ""this was the optional ingredient- if you opt out of this one (which you can) than you will only have white tapioca pearls"". As you can see my 5 drops of red turned the dough pink. Now knead that color in until the dough turns into the color you want. Still make sure that you are kneading it to the point where the dough does NOT stick to the bowl.

Step 3: (Cooking the Tapioca Pearls)

Boil a pot of water and grab a piece of dough and roll it into a ball - drop it carefully into the boiling pot.

Boil a pot of Water and take a small piece of the dough and roll it into a ball. Drop it carefully into the boiling pot of water, because you don't want the hot water to splash you. (If you want to impress some Vietnamese or Asian in-laws, here is a tip: grab a piece of dough and before rolling it into a ball, put a peanut inside and cover it with the dough. Perfect surprise that will make your Vietnamese or any Asian in-laws miss the "good-ol-days." )

Step 4: (Removing and Washing the Tapioca Pearls)

my mom and I made balls and cubes. Now its time to drain and wash in cold water again (do this 2 times)

once each of the peices starts floating in the boiling water- take it out and put the them into a container of cold water.

-Once each of the pieces you rolled up starts floating around the top, remove it from the boiling water and place them in a bowl of cold water.
-Now you will need to rinse/wash the Tapioca Pearls thoroughly. You want to drain and rinse them at least 2 times.

Step 5: (Preparing the final step)

boil a pot full of water (4 cups) and add in the 2 cups of sugar (let it boil together for a minute)

Go ahead and start slicing up your ginger root.

Boil a pot of water. Add 4 cups if you are following this recipe to the T. Add that 2 cups of sugar and allow that to boil altogether. (note: do NOT stir that sugar, let it dissolve on its own.)

now add in the mini rice cakes and all the slices of ginger.

Say, if you don't like ginger, you can really op out for this one. However, I do personally encourage you to try this recipe with ginger. It taste really good with the ginger slices, besides ginger can cure the common cold and boost your immune system. It worked for me, why not try some ginger?

Once the sugar completely dissolved, add in the rinsed Tapioca Pearls along with the ginger into the boiling pot. Let it boil for a good 3 mins, to allow the ingredient to marinate together.

Side-Step 5.5: (Cook the Coconut Cream)

In a small pot, on medium, try to boil this coconut cream and stir in a 1/4 tsp of salt- turn OFF the stove the instant you see it boiling!! (IMPORTANT!)

In a small pot, on medium, boil the can of coconut cream and stir in a 1/4 tsp of salt. Once you see the cream starting to boil, turn OFF the stove that instant!!! (This is a real crucial step) Do NOT over-cook the Coconut Cream, it will taste bad. Like once you see a big bubble, turn off the stove, but do not move the pot away from the burner.

Step 6: (Final Step - EAT)

you can enjoy it hot/cold and even on the go. its a delicous Vietnamese desert.

Now you are done!! =D let it cool down and once you pour it out - put the coconut cream mixture on top and garnish with crushed peanuts. =]

You are done!! =D Let everything cool down and then scoop the Tapioca Pearls w/ ginger and sugar liquid into a bowl or cup. Then spoon on top the Coconut Cream sauce you just boiled. And if you want, garnish the top of it all with crushed peanuts. =] Yummy!

Now your meal is complete!

You can enjoy this dish hot or cold, but many prefer warm. So if you are preparing this desert a day early like I am, refrigerate everything until the day your in-laws come. =p Just re-heat the Tapioca mixture in the microwave for 1 min., then spoon on the cool Cream mixture and enjoy.