2 Simple Ways to Cook Soft and Chewy Floating Rice Balls at Home

Wash and soak mung beans

With 150g of peeled mung beans, wash them thoroughly with water several times. Add 1 spoon of salt into 1 liter of warm water, stir well, and soak the mung beans for 1 hour.

Steam and mash mung beans and sweet potatoes

First, peel 1/2 of a white sweet potato and cut it in half, this way it will cook faster when steamed. After soaking, drain the mung beans and place them in a steamer with the white sweet potato for 30 minutes.

Once the beans and sweet potatoes are soft, separate them into 2 bowls and use a spoon to mash both.

Mix the cake dough

Add the mashed white sweet potato to 400g of glutinous rice flour, add 360ml of warm water along with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and mix well.

Kneading and resting the dough

Use your hands to knead the dough evenly for about 20 minutes until you see the dough become elastic, light, and when pulled, it has a certain bounce; if it crumbles easily, it’s ready.

After that, use plastic wrap to cover the dough and let it rest for 3 – 4 hours.

Sauté green bean filling with grated coconut

Add 320ml of coconut milk, 125ml of water, 1/3 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of tapioca flour, and 3 teaspoons of rice flour into a pot, stirring well to combine the mixture.

Place the pot of coconut milk on the stove over low heat, stirring continuously until the coconut milk thickens, then turn off the heat and add 1g (1 tube) of vanilla, mixing well until fully dissolved.

For the remaining 80ml of coconut milk, use it to sauté the green bean filling. Place the mashed green beans into a pan along with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar, then sauté the green beans with the coconut milk over low heat until the filling is slightly dry.

Next, add 70g of grated coconut to the green bean filling, mixing well until the mixture is sticky and forms a homogeneous dough without any bean scraps sticking to the pan. Finally, add 2 tablespoons of fried shallots, mixing well again to finish.

Wrapping the mung bean filling

Shape the filling into round balls, each weighing about 20g. Next, shape the dough into round balls of about 30g.

Use your thumb to press down on the dough to create a circle just big enough, then place the filling ball inside, and round the dough to closely wrap and seal the mung bean filling.

The leftover dough can be rolled into small round balls similar to tapioca pearls!

Cooking the dessert with ginger syrup

Place a pot on the stove with 1 liter of filtered water, add 375g of palm sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt, stir well until completely dissolved, then adjust the sweetness to taste.

Add 70g of julienned ginger, bring to a boil, then add the shaped dessert balls, simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes until the balls are cooked, floating on top, and the dough is taut and slightly translucent, then turn off the heat.

At this point, serve the dessert balls in bowls, add a little coconut milk, roasted sesame, and roasted peanuts, and it’s ready to enjoy.

Final Product

Glutinous rice balls satisfy your senses with their cheerful, plump round shapes and the strong aroma of warm ginger. When eaten, the outer layer is soft and chewy, while the bean filling inside is fragrant and rich, with just the right amount of sweetness that is incredibly appealing.

With this method of cooking glutinous rice balls that won’t be hard, you can rest assured that the dessert will last longer while still maintaining the desired chewy softness. Give it a try to invite your family over!

Make the mung bean filling

Peeled mung beans should be rinsed clean, soaked for 1 – 2 hours to expand. Add just enough water to cover the beans and cook until done.

When the beans are cooked, add half a teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of sugar (30gr), use a ladle to mash (or blend in a blender).

After the beans are mashed, continue to fry until the mixture is a bit dry and can be rolled into balls. Next, roll the beans into small balls.

Cook the syrup

Put a pot on the stove, boil 1 liter of water with 400g of sugar (can be adjusted to taste). Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and sliced or shredded ginger, boil for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Mix the dough for the floating cake

Slowly add about 200ml of warm water to the glutinous rice flour. If you want the cake balls to be chewier, you can add an additional 30 – 40g of tapioca flour.

Knead evenly until the dough does not stick to your hands, then let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.

Shaping the Banh Troi

Take an adequate amount of dough about the size of your thumb, flatten it out and place the filling in the center, carefully wrapping the filling completely. Make sure to seal it well to prevent the filling from falling out during boiling.

Cooking Che Troi Nuoc

Boil a pot of water and add the dumplings to cook. When the dumplings float to the top, they are done, quickly remove them to a bowl of cold water to firm them up.

Then, take the dumplings out and place them in the pot of sugar water that has been prepared earlier. Place the pot of sugar water on the stove, simmer gently enough to heat the pot for the dumplings to absorb the sugar.

Scoop the Che into a bowl, add some toasted sesame seeds and coconut milk, and it is ready to enjoy.

Final Product

Those round, white floating rice cakes are soft and smooth, with the nutty flavor of sesame, the chewiness of glutinous rice, the sweetness of sugar, and a hint of ginger; just one bite is filled with the traditional flavors of home.