Vietnamese Three-Color Dessert Pudding (Che Ba Mau Inspired)

About This Recipe

Che ba mau, literally 'three-color dessert,' is a beloved Vietnamese sweet drink and dessert built from layers of mung bean paste, sweetened red beans, and green pandan jelly, all topped with crushed ice and coconut milk. This version reworks it into a spoonable pudding, layering the same three components in a glass for a dessert that's eaten with a spoon rather than sipped through a straw. Each layer requires its own preparation: mung beans are steamed and mashed with sugar into a thick paste, red beans are simmered until tender and sweetened, and a pandan-flavored jelly (made with agar or gelatin and pandan extract for its distinct grassy-vanilla aroma and green color) sets separately. Assembled in layers just before serving, the components stay visually distinct rather than blending together. Topped with a generous pour of coconut milk right before eating, this dessert is a genuine reflection of how che desserts work across Vietnam — component-based, customizable, and built around contrasting textures in a single glass or bowl.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 0.5 cupdried split mung beans(soaked 4 hours)
• 0.33 cupsugar(for mung bean layer)
• 0.5 cupdried red adzuki beans(soaked 4 hours)
• 0.33 cupsugar(for red bean layer)
• 1 tspagar-agar powder
• 1.5 cupswater(for jelly)
• 2 tbspsugar(for jelly)
• 1 tsppandan extract
• 1.5 cupscoconut milk
• 0.25 cupsugar(for coconut milk)
• 0.25 tspfine sea salt
• 1 cupcrushed ice(for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the mung beans

   Steam or boil soaked mung beans 20-25 minutes until very soft. Mash with sugar while warm until it forms a thick, spreadable paste. Chill.

2. 2

   Cook the red beans

   Simmer soaked red beans in fresh water 40-45 minutes until tender. Drain, stir in sugar while warm, and chill.

3. 3

   Make the pandan jelly

   Combine agar-agar, water, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, whisking, then simmer 2 minutes. Stir in pandan extract. Pour into a shallow dish and chill until firm, then cut into small cubes.

4. 4

   Sweeten the coconut milk

   Warm coconut milk with sugar and salt just until the sugar dissolves. Chill completely.

5. 5

   Layer the dessert

   In clear glasses, layer mung bean paste, then red beans, then pandan jelly cubes.

6. 6

   Finish and serve

   Top each glass with crushed ice and a generous pour of sweetened coconut milk just before serving. Stir gently to combine before eating.

Variations

• •

  Add a layer of grass jelly (suong sao) for a fourth color and different texture.

• •

  Use canned sweetened red beans to save time if you're short on prep hours.

• •

  Swap pandan extract for a few drops of vanilla if pandan isn't available, though you'll lose the distinct flavor and green color.

Storage

Store each component separately in the refrigerator up to 4 days. Assemble just before serving, since the ice and coconut milk are meant to be added fresh each time.

Frequently Asked Questions