Chè Ba Màu

Chè ba màu is mung bean paste, red bean and pandan jelly layered in a glass, with coconut milk and crushed ice poured over just before eating. The name means "three-colour sweet soup," a literal description of the pale yellow, deep red and green bands that sit visibly stacked in the glass right up until the first stir mixes them together.

What it really is

Sweetened mung bean cooks down into a smooth, pale yellow paste, while red beans simmer whole until tender and hold their shape as a distinct layer, and a green jelly, coloured and flavoured with pandan leaf, cuts into small cubes for the third band. The three go into a tall glass in visible stripes, then crushed ice and a generous pour of coconut milk go on top, arriving at the table as a striped dessert that a guest is meant to stir into one uniform, speckled mix before eating rather than spoon through layer by layer.

Stirring it together, not eating it in careful layers, is how it's meant to be approached. The three-colour presentation is for the moment it arrives at the table — once the spoon goes in, the layers are meant to disappear into a single cold, sweet mixture.

How it's served

• Cold, in a tall glass, layers visible until stirred together by the diner.
• With crushed ice and coconut milk poured over just before serving.
• As a dessert or a cooling snack any time of day, especially in warm weather.

How to write it on the menu

• It's naturally vegan and vegetarian.
• No major allergens are inherent to the base recipe.
• Say that it's meant to be stirred before eating, since a guest unfamiliar with the dish might otherwise eat around the layers.