Chè facts for kids
Plastic containers of chè đậu trắng, a variety of chè made from black-eyed peas, in an Asian grocery store
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| Type | Soup or pudding |
|---|---|
| Course | Dessert |
| Place of origin | Vietnam |
| Region or state | Southeast Asia |
| Similar dishes | Sago with coconut milk |
Chè (pronounced like "cheh") is a popular traditional Vietnamese sweet treat. It can be a drink, a dessert soup, or even a pudding. There are many different kinds of chè, each with its own special ingredients.
You'll find chè made with things like mung beans, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, and tapioca. Some even have jelly (clear or grass jelly), fresh fruits like longan, mango, durian, lychee, or jackfruit. Many are made creamy with coconut milk. Other interesting ingredients include salt, aloe vera, seaweed, lotus seeds, sesame seeds, sugar palm seeds, taro, cassava, and pandan leaf extract. Some chè even have small dumplings, like chè trôi nước.
Most chè dishes are made by cooking beans, root vegetables, or glutinous rice in water and sweetening them with sugar. In southern Vietnam, it's common to add coconut cream on top. Chè can be served either hot or cold. You can eat it with a bowl and spoon or drink it from a glass. Each type of chè has a name that describes it, like chè đậu đỏ, which means "red bean chè".
You can make chè at home, but it's also often sold in plastic cups at Vietnamese grocery stores. In northern Vietnam, the word chè can also mean the tea plant. Tea is sometimes called nước chè in the North or more commonly trà in both regions. Sweet soups from China, called tong sui, are very similar to chè.
Contents
Exploring Different Kinds of Chè
There are so many types of chè that it's hard to list them all! Here are some of the most common and traditional varieties you might find.
Chè with Beans and Grains
Many chè dishes use different kinds of beans or grains as their main ingredient.
- Chè ba màu (meaning "three colours chè") - This usually has green mung beans, white black-eyed peas, and red azuki beans. But people can use any three ingredients to make different colors!
- Chè đậu đen - Made from black turtle beans. This is a very popular type, especially in northern Vietnam.
- Chè đậu đỏ - Made from azuki beans, usually whole beans.
- Chè đậu phụng (also called chè đậu phộng or chè lạc) - Made from peanuts.
- Chè đậu trắng - Made from black-eyed peas. This is one of the most common bean desserts in southern Vietnam.
- Chè đậu xanh - Made from whole mung beans.
- Chè bắp (or chè ngô) - Made from corn and tapioca rice pudding.
- Chè bột sắn - Made from cassava flour.
- Chè cốm - Made from young rice.
- Chè khoai lang - Made from sweet potato.
- Chè khoai môn - Made from taro.
- Chè mè đen - Made from black sesame seeds.
- Chè hạt sen - Made from lotus seeds.
- Chè sen dừa - Lotus seeds with coconut water.
- Chè mã thầy - Made from water chestnuts.
Chè with Jellies and Dumplings
Some chè dishes feature different kinds of jellies or soft dumplings.
- Chè thạch (or chè rau câu) - Made from agar agar jelly.
- Chè thạch lựu - Made from seaweed and tapioca pearls shaped like pomegranate seeds.
- Sương sáo - This is a popular Grass jelly.
- Chè bột lọc - Small dumplings made from cassava and rice flour.
- Chè con ong (meaning "bee sweet soup") - This northern dish is sticky and yellow like honey. It's made from glutinous rice, ginger root, honey, and molasses. It's often made for special family events like Tết.
- Chè bánh xếp - This dish has green bean paste wrapped in a tapioca skin dumpling. It's served in a coconut milk base with smaller tapioca pieces.
- Chè trôi nước - These are balls made from mung bean paste inside a shell of glutinous rice flour. They are served in a thick, clear, or brown liquid made from water, sugar, and grated ginger root.
Chè with Fruits and Plants
Many chè dishes highlight the delicious flavors of various fruits and plants.
- Chè hoa quả (or chè trái cây) - A mix of different fruits like pineapple, watermelon, apple, pear, mango, lychee, dried banana, cherry, and dried coconut. It's often served with milk, yogurt, and syrup.
- Chè nhãn - Made from longan fruit.
- Chè xoài - Made from mango.
- Chè chuối - Made from bananas and tapioca. It's traditionally served warm.
- Chè sầu riêng - Made from durian fruit.
- Chè mít - Made from jackfruit.
- Chè lô hội - Made from Aloe vera.
Mixed Chè Dishes
Some chè dishes combine many different ingredients for a rich and varied taste.
- Chè thập cẩm (meaning "ten-ingredient sweet soup" or "mixed sweet soup") - This is a mix of various ingredients like black-eyed peas, azuki beans, lotus seeds, mung beans, coconut, syrup, ice cream, milk, and trân châu (tapioca pearls). It's one of the most popular forms of chè in Vietnam.
- Chè bà ba - Made from taro, cassava, and a type of sweet potato.
- Sâm bổ lượng - A cold, sweet soup with ingredients like Job's tears, dried longans, red jujubes, lotus seeds, and thinly sliced seaweed. It's served with water, sugar, and crushed ice.
- Chè thưng - This "combo dessert" can have different versions. One might include dried red jujube, peanuts, and dried fungus. Another might have taro, cassava, green bean, seaweed, and water chestnuts.
Savory Chè (A Special Twist)
While most chè are sweet, some unique varieties are made with savory ingredients.
- Chè lạp xường - Made with Chinese sausage.
- Chè thịt quay - Made with roast pork.
- Chè trứng - Served with boiled eggs, either hot or cold, in a sweet soup base or sweet tea.
Chè Inspired by Other Countries
You can also find chè dishes that are Vietnamese versions of sweets from other countries.
- Bubur Cha cha (or Bocha) - This is a Vietnamese take on a sweet soup that comes from Malaysia and Singapore.
- Chè Thái - A sweet fruit soup believed to be a version of Thailand's tub tim krob. The Vietnamese version uses a variety of tropical fruits, while the Thai version mainly uses chestnuts.
- Tàu hũ (or Tào phớ) - This is a Vietnamese style of Douhua, a soft tofu pudding.
See also
In Spanish: Chè para niños
