Black bean sweet soup is a familiar rustic dish of Vietnamese people, especially popular in the summer thanks to its cooling, detoxifying and nutritious effects. However, many people are afraid to cook black bean sweet soup because they are afraid of taking a long time to cook. But applying the following tips, you will find that black bean sweet soup is delicious and easy to cook.

1. Prepare ingredients

Black beans: Depending on the number of people in the family, you should consider the appropriate amount of beans. You should choose black beans with black skin and green core. Observe the beans with shiny black skin, firm seeds, no weevils, and light green inside. This type of black bean has a rich aroma, when cooked, it will be more delicious than the usual black beans with yellow core.

Sugar: You can use white sugar, rock sugar or palm sugar depending on your taste.

Salt, filtered water.

Accompanying ingredients: Coconut milk, shredded coconut, tapioca pearls, shaved ice (optional).

Choosing good black beans and preparing them properly will make a delicious and quickly cooked bean dessert.Choosing good black beans and preparing them properly will make a delicious and quickly cooked bean dessert.

2. Tips for choosing and soaking black beans to help them cook faster

After choosing good beans, you need to pick out the bad beans and the ones with worms. A little tip is to put the beans in water, the beans that float on top are usually bad beans, so remove them.

Soaking black beans for 6-8 hours or overnight is a very important step to help the beans cook quickly and soften without being tough. Soaking black beans also helps ensure good health because it will help remove some of the phytic acid - a substance that can hinder nutrient absorption. This not only makes the dessert more flavorful but also ensures safety for the digestive system.

3. Secret to preparing before cooking – roasting black beans

After soaking, rinse the beans with clean water, drain and then put them in a pan to roast. Roast the beans for a few minutes until the bean skin is slightly dry and has a light aroma. Do not roast too much as this will cause the beans to burn and have a burnt smell.

Roasting is a trick to make the beans more fragrant and also helps balance the cold properties of black beans, avoiding causing a cold stomach when eaten. Roasting lightly also helps the beans soften quickly without breaking.

This is a small but extremely "valuable" tip that many people who have cooked sweet soup for a long time often apply.

Black bean sweet soup is a great cooling dish for summer.Black bean sweet soup is a great cooling dish for summer.

4. How to cook black beans quickly and save fuel

Once the beans are roasted, you can choose one of the following ways to cook them:

Cooking with a pressure cooker: Very fast, only takes about 15 – 20 minutes.
Rice cooker: Put beans in the pot, add water 3 times the amount of beans, turn on the cooking mode. When it boils, keep warm for about 30 minutes and then check the softness.
Gas stove/induction stove: Cook over medium heat, open the lid to avoid overflow, and watch the water so it doesn't dry out.
Tip: If you use a rice cooker, you can boil the beans for about 5 minutes, then unplug and let them sit for 30 minutes. The beans will still be soft without using much electricity.

5. Marinate beans with sugar – helps beans become rich from the inside out

When the beans are cooked, drain the water and keep only the beans. Then, add sugar and mix well with the beans, add a little salt to create a rich flavor.

Stir the beans with sugar over low heat until the beans absorb the sweetness. Separating the water before marinating with sugar will help the sugar penetrate deep into the beans, preventing them from becoming bland like when sugar is added to water.

After marinating with sugar, pour the bean water back into the pot and bring to a gentle boil again to mix the sweet soup evenly. You can add a little diluted tapioca starch if you want the sweet soup to be smoother.

You can also create a sweet soup with a few slices of crushed ginger for a warm, aromatic flavor, or drop a few fresh jasmine flowers into the sugar water before cooking to give the soup a light, delicate aroma.

Some notes when cooking black bean sweet soup

To have a delicious bowl of black bean sweet soup, you can eat it hot or cold depending on your preference. When eating, scoop the beans into a bowl or glass, pour the sweet soup, add rich coconut milk, shredded coconut, a few tapioca pearls and shaved ice if you like it cold.

Black bean dessert is delicious and nutritious, but you should pay attention to a few points:

Do not add too much sugar because it will cause "internal heat" - counterproductive to cooling.
Do not use baking soda when cooking sweet soup at home. Although it can help the beans soften quickly, if you do not use the right type of clean food (the type used in baking), it can affect your health.
Black bean tea is good but you should not eat too much, especially at night because it can easily cause bloating.
In short, with the simple tips above, you will have black bean dessert at home, quickly while still ensuring the beans are soft, sweet and fragrant. No need to spend hours simmering beans, you can still show off your talent in cooking delicious dessert for the whole family to enjoy. Save these tips and cook right away this summer.