A simple recipe for one of my favorite summer treats!
Red Bean Ice (Hong Kong Diner Style)
Servings: 2
This is a cha chaan teng (Hong Kong diner) classic that I grew up with. It's super simple, but its beauty lies in its simplicity and getting the balance of ingredients just right. You can use store-bought red bean paste, but I think the texture of homemade makes it more authentic. This recipe makes 2-4 servings depending on how big your drinks are.
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Ingredients
For the Red Beans
- 7 oz dried Asian red beans sometimes called Adzuki beans; not to be confused with kidney beans
- water
- 1/2 slab Chinese brown sugar*
- pinch of salt
For the Drink
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 5.6 oz coconut milk**
- 3.5 oz condensed milk or to taste
- crushed ice
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Make the Beans (start the night before)
- The night before you want to enjoy your hong dau bing, pour your dried beans into a medium sized bowl (the beans will expand to about double their size) and submerge with ample room temperature water. If the beans take up about half the container, you want the water to almost fill the container.7 oz dried Asian red beans, water
- The next morning, drain and rinse the beans well. They should have expanded significantly. Add them to a small-medium sized pot and add water just until the beans are covered. Add your brown sugar and salt right on top. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.1/2 slab Chinese brown sugar*, pinch of salt
- Continue cooking, checking on your beans every 20-30 minutes or so and giving them a light stir. The beans are done when you can smash one easily between your fingertips. This typically takes me about 2 hours, but you can start checking at around the 1.5 hour mark. If the water level drops below the level of the beans at any point, you can top it up a little bit. Be careful to not add too much water, as you're trying to achieve a sort of chunky porridge consistency.
- Once cooking is done, set aside and allow to cool. While you can make the beans ahead of time and refrigerate them, for optimal texture I recommend consuming them the same day you cook them. If you plan on making them ahead, cook the beans a little longer than you would otherwise, as they can firm up in the fridge and take on a slightly crunchy texture.
Assemble the Drink
- Shake all your milks well before opening. Add evaporated milk, coconut milk, and condensed milk to a large jar or small bowl and whisk to combine. Add a pinch of salt to taste.12 oz evaporated milk, 5.6 oz coconut milk**, 3.5 oz condensed milk, pinch of salt
- Scoop about 1/4 cup of red beans into a glass (an ice cream scoop works well for this). Fill the remainder of the glass with crushed ice. If crushing your own ice, make sure to keep a good mix of small and larger pieces — there is supposed to be some crunch!crushed ice
- Carefully top off the glass with the milk mixture. Serve with a spoon and a thick (boba-style) straw.
Notes
*Chinese style slab sugar can be found at any Chinese market. If you can't find it, start by adding 2 Tbsp of packed American style brown sugar to your red beans. Towards the end of cooking, you can taste and add additional brown sugar 1 Tbsp at a time, up to about 4 Tbsp total — otherwise the beans will be too sweet.
**I find that 1 mini can of Chao Koh brand coconut milk works perfectly here, which is 5.6oz. Of course, if you can't find the mini cans, feel free to measure out 5-6 oz of coconut milk from a standard can.