After you’ve had your fill of pho, spring rolls, and banh mi, don’t forget to leave some room for these scrumptious Vietnamese desserts.
You might have tried Vietnamese Che before. But what exactly is it? Well, for one thing, it is a category of delicious desserts. After you’ve had your fill of pho, spring rolls, and banh mi, don’t forget to leave some room for these scrumptious Vietnamese desserts.
Banana Soup
The name banana soup might catch you off guard. After all, how can you make soup with bananas? For one thing, it is served warm as condensed soup. The “broth” of this soup is a banana steeped in coconut milk. It also includes sago pearls, so all in all, it is creamy and quite sweet. When you look at it, you’ll see that it has the texture of pudding, but has some roasted peanuts spread out on top to balance out the sweetness and provide a bit of eye-catching color contrast.
Three Colors Dessert
The three colors dessert is a drink you might be more familiar with; it resembles bubble tea! Three different colored beans and jelly cubes are combined with sweetened coconut milk to make this beverage. The three colors that give these Vietnamese desserts their name are red, yellow, and green. If you’re planning on visiting Vietnam at some point this year, especially in the summer, you’ll find nothing more delightful than sipping this drink on a scorching day while sitting in the shade of a restaurant or a specialty cafe.
Rainbow Dessert
Another cold drink meant to refresh you during those intensely hot Vietnamese summer days (if you’re dreaming of escaping the bitter cold here on the East Coast!), rainbow dessert is quite similar to the three colors dessert but filled with numerous ingredients, such as :
- Agar jelly
- Mung bean paste
- Imitation pomegranate seeds
- Coconut milk
Glutinous Rice Dumplings
Another warm and condensed soup, these dumplings might not be what you expect. You might be wondering, how can dumplings count as Vietnamese desserts? Most menus list dumplings as appetizers. But these glutinous rice dumplings are loaded up with mung bean paste and then cooked in a syrup made from sweetened ginger.
The dish’s name in Vietnamese means “floating on water” because of how the dumplings look once they are cooked – they float. You’ll find them served with sesame seeds for a topping and sometimes accompanied by coconut milk. Its name also means “fulfillment”, so it is often served on a child’s first birthday. If you enjoy Japanese mochi, then you have an idea of what these dumplings are like before you try them.
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