Vietnamese Chinese / Dessert Recipe

Che Ba Mau

Dessert · Serves 4 · 30 minutes plus chilling

Che ba mau is a three-color Vietnamese dessert with beans, jelly, coconut milk, and crushed ice, often appearing on Vietnamese or Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant menus.

Recipe at a glance

PurposeHigh-frequency Chinese restaurant menu dish
Cuisine or formatVietnamese Chinese / Dessert
Menu variation ruleProtein may be adjusted without creating a separate recipe family.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sweetened red beans or kidney beans
  • 1 cup mung bean paste or sweet mung beans
  • 1 cup pandan jelly or grass jelly
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • Crushed ice
  • Optional palm seeds or jackfruit

Method

  1. Prepare sweet beans and jelly components.
  2. Sweeten coconut milk lightly.
  3. Layer beans, mung bean, and jelly in glasses.
  4. Add crushed ice.
  5. Pour coconut milk over the top.
  6. Stir before eating.

Menu-literacy notes

  • Che ba mau is Vietnamese rather than regional Chinese, but appears on some Chinese-Vietnamese menus.
  • The name means three-color dessert.
  • Dairy is not usually required, but coconut milk and added ingredients should be checked.

Variations and substitutions

  • For chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, tofu, or mixed seafood variants, keep the same sauce logic and adjust the cooking time for the protein.
  • For allergies or religious dietary needs, check sauces, broth, wrappers, cooking wine, and shared wok or fryer use.
  • For takeout-style dishes, sauce texture matters: the sauce should coat the food rather than become a thin soup.

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