Chinese Green Mung Bean Dessert with Tapioca Recipe

One of the classic desserts my mom always made for me growing up was a green mung bean dessert with tapioca pearls. In doing a recent reorganization of my kitchen, I found a bag of mung beans and pearls and the night before we had just made some coconut rice and had some leftover coconut cream so this was perfect, pretty much everything I need to make the dessert right at my fingertips.

So I figured, why not!

Ingredients

• 1 bag of green mung beans (14 oz)
• 1 half bag of tapioca strands
• 5 tablespoons of tapioca pearls
• 1.5 cups of brown sugar
• 10 cups of water
• 4 pandan leaves,
  • rinsed
  • tied together
• 1 cup of coconut cream

Directions

• Wash and soak whole bag of green mung beans
  • (I soaked them for about an hour and clean/drained them until the water was fairly clear)

• Combine water, mung beans, brown sugar and pandan leaves in a large pot
• Bring to a boil
• After boiling, simmer on low for at least 40 minutes or until mung beans split open

• Stir to prevent beans from sticking to the bottom of the pot

• Add sago pearls and coconut cream
• Cook until sago pearls become translucent

• Optional: Add water if the dessert is too thick
• Prior to serving, taste to ensure it is at your preferred sweetness.
  • If not sweet enough, add more sugar.
  • Let it cook a bit more until incorporated.

I prefer to eat the dessert warm but you do have the option to eat it cold as well. A classic Chinese dessert that always reminds me of home. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

F8T Tip You could add taro too!

Which restaurant desserts do you wish you could make at home?