Mung Bean Mochi with Ginger Syrup Recipes (Chè Trôi Nước)

Che Xoi Nuoc also known as Che Troi Nuoc (Mung Bean Mochi with Ginger Syrup). This is my mom's recipe. When it comes to sweet or savory, she tends to know almost everything. Genius right, what can we say; momma knows best!

As I moved to California, I saw many Vietnamese fast food and restaurants selling this Che Xoi Nuoc. It had ginger in syrup; however, where I grew up, my mom made just a simple syrup. And so for my first time tried it, honestly, I didn’t really like it much to have ginger in my sweet dessert. But I guess I get used to with it when I eat it although I find the mochi dough itself a little greasy. However, from there on, for the syrup, I use ginger every time I make syrup for this mochi dessert. With that being said, if you are not a big fan of ginger, you can leave that part out. I do recommend you try it though because it tastes totally different than you would imagine. Spicy, sweet, and the aroma of that ginger are just beyond perfect. It is so delicious! 

The method of making the mochi dough would still stay the same as my mom did it. Once you make them yourself, you probably won’t go out and buy them elsewhere. Alright, let's get started together!

Here's how:

For the Ginger Syrup:
In a small sauce pan, put in 3 cups of water, and add ginger. Roughly peeling the skin as I showed in the picture, bring water to a boil and low the heat, cover the lid for 20 to 30 minutes. Let it cook less time if you don't like too much taste of the ginger. Right before you remove from the heat, add in 1 cup of sugar (brown or white) and let it dissolve. I like my syrup slightly thick, so I add in a mix 1/2 tsp tapioca and 1 tsp of cold water into my syrup, strain the syrup if you have to. Leave the ginger in the pot still for a nice presentation, and then let it cool completely, set aside. You can make this a day before if you prefer so you don't have to wait until it to cool when you are in the process of making the mochi.

For the Dough:

Put 1 bag of 6oz glutinous rice flower into a mixing bowl and slowly add in 1 2/3 to 1 ¾ cup of water. As you add the water, roughly mix the dough with your hand thoroughly, and/or use food processor if you have one, mixed until it forms to a smooth dough, then squeeze it with the palm of your hand for about 3 to 5 minutes, cover it with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Set aside!   

For the Filling:
Soak the mung bean overnight. Drain well and put in a small sauce pan or a pot. Put the water just enough to cover the bean, turn on the heat, and let it come to a boil for about 15 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on it so the bottom of the pan doesn’t burn. After about 10 to 15 minutes, test to see if it's soften. If it is still hard, leave it on for another 5 minutes or until you can crush the grain with your finger. However, if you are not comfortable boiling the mung bean, use the steamer and steam it for the same amount of time as you would boil them (15 to 20 minutes). Take out and set aside. In the pan or a skillet, put in ½ tbsp of cooking oil (any kind that you have available) and sautés 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic for a few seconds until the garlic slightly turn golden, add in the mung bean. Stir it well, then add in 1 tbsp of granulated sugar and ¼ tsp of salt. Stir it until all the sugar dissolve. I usually add in 3 thinly sliced scallions right a few seconds before I remove from the heat, but if you have it at home, please add it in. Let it cool down a little, then form the filling (preferably do it while it is still warm to the touch) into a small ball roughly of the dough ball or the size of a quarter in diameter, and set aside.

 

Direction to put everything together:

Form the dough roughly about double size of the filling. Roughly roll it in circle pattern in clock wise direction, then flatten with a palm of your hand, thinning it out using your finger. Place the filling in the center of the dough, fold over one edge and pinch together, make sure the dough cover the filling completely. Gently roll circulate in clock wise direction until it forms a smooth ball. Be sure not to put any pressure at all as you roll the dough to ensure the filling doesn't smush all inside the dough! Repeat the process for the remainder. Save some dough at the end to form a tiny mochi without the filling for a nice presentation, you can leave mochi without the filling part out if you don't want to do it. Like I said,  this part basically just for nice presentation in a large pot. Bring the water to a boil. While you wait for the water to boil, here’s the secret part to have the mochi look shiny. On a separate bowl, put in tap cold water and set aside. As the pot of your water come to a boil, drop the

mochi into a boiling water until it floats to the top. As it floats to the top, leave it there for about two minutes. Take it out, then drop in that bowl of cold tap water that were set aside ealier for a few seconds, then take it out and place it in the ginger syrup. Repeat the process until all are done. 

To serve — Top it with coconut cream that had been reduced/thickened, and with toasted sesame and crushed peanut. To do the coconut cream, in a small sauce pan, pour in 1 can 14 oz of coconut cream, bring to a boil, add in 2 tbsp of sugar and a pinch of sauce. Let it reduce for 2 minutes, add in the mixture of 1 tsp of water and 1 tsp of tapioca starch to thicken it. Enjoy!

P.S. Let me know how it turns out for you. Please comment below, I would love to hear it from you all, and I will try to reply as soon as I can. Thank You for visiting my blog!