Chinese Coconut Milk Red Bean Pudding (椰汁紅豆糕)
 |
Got a pack of dried red bean at home for a long time and wonder what should I do with them. Most of you would have heard of the popular Chinese dessert Red Bean Soup but this is not my favorite really. When you attend a Chinese wedding banquet, it’s very common that they serve red bean soup at the end which when I was a kid, I was already tired of it, especially when it’s served hot. Alternative ways to serve red bean soup is to served cold and add some evaporated milk to it.
Anyway, I did not make red bean soup this time but instead all of a sudden, I remembered a chilled pudding which you can find easily in Dim Sum restaurants in Hong Kong: Coconut milk Red Bean Pudding (椰汁紅豆糕). I have not had this Chinese dessert for a long time, it was so good and can keep for a few days in the fridge.
Ingredients:
- 60g dried red beans
- 500ml water (this is used for cooking the agar agar)
- 300ml coconut milk
- 65g evaporated milk
- 100g white sugar
- 50g cornstarch
- 6g agar-agar or 10g gelatine
- pinches of salt
Directions:
- Rinse to wash the red beans, soak the red bean with water overnight.
- The following day boil the red beans in water in a pan at medium high heat for 15 mins, then turn off the heat and cover with the lid and leave it for another 20 mins. In this way, the red beans will continue to cook without getting too soft.
- Drain the red bean onto a bowl with a sieve to discard the water and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix the coconut milk, evaporated milk and cornstarch together, stir until there is no lumps of cornstarch.
- Boil the 500ml water in a large saucepan, add in the agar-agar and keep stirring with a wooden spatula until all agar-agar is completely melted. Then pour in the coconut milk and evaporated milk mixture from Step 4, add in the sugar, stir to ensure the sugar is all melted. Bring the mixture to boil and keep stirring in the meantime to avoid burning and sticking at the bottom of the pan, turn to low heat and let it simmer until the liquid mixture thickens.
- Add in the red beans and pinches of salt, stir to mix.
- Then turn off the heat and pour the mixture to a nonstick square mould or a plastic box. Leave at room temperature to cool down completely, then chill in the fridge for a few hours until it is set.
- When the coconut red bean pudding is set, you can transfer the pudding to a plate, cut into desired shapes, pieces and serve.
Enjoy!
Note:
If you cannot find agar-agar, you can use gelatine. I tried once and the texture is less jelly like as compared to using agar-agar.
Below is a videoclip I found and have adapted from but it’s only in Cantonese but you can see the illustration:
Janet, this could be the most beautiful “椰汁红豆糕“ I have ever seen! Beautifully presented!
.-= Angie’s Recipes´s last blog ..Zucchini Cheese Spread served with Artisan Bread =-.
Oh wow…what beautiful dessert! I think I’ll sit and admire the beauty of it for quite some time before diving into it
I love it.
.-= MaryMoh´s last blog ..Chocolate Swiss Roll With Raspberry Coulis (Guest Post) =-.
I made some kind of “pudding” before with coconut milk. This pudding of yours reminds me of red bean ice-cream on a stick (potong)…:D
A delicious dessert! Fresh and healthy.
Cheers,
Rosa
It’s such a beautiful dessert! I would love to try!
.-= 5 Star Foodie´s last blog ..5 Star Makeover Smoothies and Shakes Roundup =-.
Janet you dessert looks so beautiful. I’ve never heard of a dessert using beans before but I would really like to try it. Can any kind of red beans be used or is there a special kind used?
.-= Ivy´s last blog ..In Memory of Rosie =-.
Hi Ivy, you will need to have the Chinese red beans which is available in Asian or Chinese groceries stores : )
Janet, what a beautiful dessert, great presentation, so elegant and delicate
Love it!
The presentation is beautiful! I’m not usually a fan of coconut but this sounds so tempting!
.-= pigpigscorner´s last blog ..Venezia Italian Restaurant @ Cheras, KL, Malaysia =-.
Your coconut pudding looking perfect. Love your presentation very much, very refreshing, far better than those in Yum Cha restaurants.
.-= Christine@Christine’s Recipes´s last blog ..Baked Cauliflower Curry =-.
Thanks Christine, I was wondering how to present in a slightly different conventional way.
That pudding looks very good Janet! I tried a bean dessert in a Chinese restaurant we went to for my birthday in April (it was a fried dessert with beans inside) but I would much rather have this … it looks delicious!
.-= Maria´s last blog ..Cherry Tahini Crumble =-.
I haven’ t a clue what dried red beans taste like in a dessert!!
Maybe I will try this because the dessert looks so tasty!
.-= Sophie´s last blog ..Sophie’s moist gluten free zucchini muffins! =-.
[...] pudding. (Go on, click the link, the picture looks absolutely delicious!) The last one, from Gourmet Traveller 88, is the only recipe that had the red bean variation [...]
This sounds and looks so interesting. Wondering if another sweetener can be substituted for the sugar. Would love to try this since red beans and coconut milk are some of my favorites.
.-= Jeanette´s last blog ..Recipe for Zaatar Meatballs =-.
What kind of sweetener you are thinking of? Am sure this can be subsititute. Glad to hear you like red beans too.
hi, so using gelatin would be less jello-y compared to using agar agar?
i though gelatin would be more jello-y.
Hi sheri, Agar agar is better for this recipe actually, also jello-y but different texture not bouncy like gelatin if I can describe it the best I can. I used gelatin because I could not find agar agar at that time but later I found in the asian grocery store here.
how many people does this portion serve?
Normally the chinese will prepare the pudding in a big box or tray. I used the round mold for nicer presentation. this portion should serve 6-8 persons.
Could you add sago (tapioca) to this? Have you ever tried, and what was it like?
Hi Sharon, I have not tried but I think it will work too.