Have you ever tried dessert soup? This Black Glutinous Rice and Coconut Milk Dessert Soup is one of the easiest dessert you can make. Just soak, boil and sweeten! It’s sweet, slightly nutty, little chewy with a hint of coconut. Serve it hot in winter and cold in summer. Unique and tasty!
Today, I’m sharing a recipe of dessert soup. I have been craving for this specific soup for a while. Since it’s pretty hard to find one in LA, I decided to make it myself. It ended to be super easy and tasted just like how I remember. Where have I been all this time?
I know the concept of dessert soup can be intimidating. But if you think about it, it’s simplest dessert you can make. No special equipment is needed. Boil a pot of water with beans or grains, then sweeten it. There is a large pot of dessert soup that can feed the whole family.
There is a wide range of dessert soup. You can make it with beans, grains/seeds, nuts, vegetables or fruits. A few well known ones are red bean soup, mung bean soup, black sesame seed soup, sweet walnut soup & sweet potato soup. They are usually served hot. They are mostly mildly sweet, earthy and nutty. They are more traditional and often being served at Chinese restaurants. The younger generation tends to like something cold and more fruity. Tapioca pearls in coconut milk is always a popular option, especially with mango. Black glutinous rice sometimes are being added for flavors and texture.
Black glutinous rice is actually dark purple in color, that’s why it’s also named purple rice. Black rice is not black glutinous rice. It’s just regular rice, not a type of sticky rice. Don’t get confused! Black glutinous rice is high in dietary fiber and manganese. When rinsing and cooking black glutinous rice, the water will turn reddish purple. Don’t worry. That is the natural color from the rice and that is what give the dessert soup a beautiful color.
There are only 3 main steps to this dessert. Soak, cook and sweeten! Rice has to be soaked for about 1 hour, then cook in water for about 1 hour. Last, just sweetened with rock sugar and flavored with coconut milk. Incredibly easy! The soup is sweet, slightly nutty, little chewy with a hint of coconut. As a first timer, Bryan initial response was “cream of wheat”. I can see how it is kind of similar. They are both in a liquid form, made with grain and sweeten. But I promise you that this dessert soup is even better! This soup can be served hot or cold. A cold bowl of this soup is heaven for summer! You have to try this!
Black Glutinous Rice and Coconut Milk Dessert Soup
Ingredients
- 80 grams black glutinous rice (about ½ cup)
- 4½ cups water
- 80 – 100 grams rock sugar
- ¾ cup coconut milk, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Rinse rice 3 times with water. Place the rice in a medium bow and soak in water for 1 hour. Drain.
- In a medium pot, add 4½ cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add rice and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low, cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add 80 grams rock sugar. When it melts, taste and adjust with more sugar if needed. Cook for 10 more minutes. Stir in the coconut milk.
- For hot soup, transfer to serving bowls and serve immediately. Garnish with a little coconut milk if desired. For cold soup, set the pot aside for 30 minutes to cool. Transfer to a container and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Garnish with a little coconut milk if desired.
Notes
- Black glutinous rice can be found in Chinese supermarkets or from Amazon. Be careful NOT to buy black rice. Black rice is NOT the same as black glutinous rice.
- Rock sugar can be bought in Chinese supermarkets or from Amazon. They can take up to 3 - 5 minutes to melt depends on sizes.
- There are many different brands of coconut milk. They don’t taste the same. My favorite one is Aroy-D and you can get in from most Asian supermarkets and from Amazon.
- If serving the soup cold, reserve the leftover coconut milk for garnish. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in the fridge.
- This dessert soup can be made 1 day ahead and keep in the fridge in an airtight container. Soup may thicken overnight. You can stir in a small amount water to thin out.
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