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Hong Kong red bean ice
紅豆冰: sweet stewed red beans over crushed ice with syrup and evaporated milk, in a tall cha chaan teng glass
Red bean ice is a cha chaan teng drink and dessert in one: tall glasses of sweet stewed adzuki beans, sugar syrup and crushed ice, topped with a layer of evaporated milk, served all summer at the old-school cafés of Sham Shui Po and Mong Kok and at the dai pai dong on Stanley Street. You stir with a long spoon, sip the cold milky liquid through a straw and spoon up the soft beans. The beans can be cooked a day ahead. Contains milk. Chef's tip: add the sugar only once the beans are completely soft; sugar added early keeps the skins tough.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 5 ½ oz dried adzuki (red) beanssoaked overnight
- 1 litre water
- 3 ½ oz white sugar
- 1 ¾ oz sugarfor the syrup
- 3 ½ tbsp waterfor the syrup
- 14 oz ice cubescrushed
- ¾ cup evaporated milk
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Drain 5 ½ oz dried adzuki (red) beans, put them in a pan with 1 litre water, bring to the boil and simmer, partly covered, for 60–70 minutes, until the beans crush easily between your fingers. Top up with water if needed.
70 minStep 2: Stir in 3 ½ oz white sugar and simmer for 5 minutes more, until the liquid turns syrupy and some beans have burst. Common mistake: adding sugar at the start; the beans stay hard however long you cook them. Cool, then chill.
5 minStep 3: Dissolve 1 ¾ oz sugar in 3 ½ tbsp water over a low heat, then cool.
3 minStep 4: Spoon 3–4 tablespoons of red beans with their syrup into each of 4 tall glasses and add a spoonful of the sugar syrup.
2 minStep 5: Pack the glasses with 14 oz ice cubes, then pour over ¾ cup evaporated milk so it trickles down through the ice. Serve with a long spoon and a straw.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does hong Kong red bean ice take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 80 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of white sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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