Sweet Mung Bean & Taro Dessert

I think my mom, my grandma or somebody along the family tree created this sweet treat. I use to enjoy these sweet mung bean dessert soup all year round. Back then, I like it cold. With the weather blues still surfing at my end, I will eat this warm. I'll pull out an all-week treat to serve my sweet tooth. Mom would make this with red beans, green beans, walnuts, peanuts, OR black sesame seeds. Often times, she would get creative with taro, yams OR any other high fiber source of dessert soups. This mung bean dessert recipe is a pure sweet sensation. Don't worry about bloating afterwards. Unlike kidney beans or some sorts, mung beans are relatively easy to digest :)

So, after reading OC Food Blog's review on those sinful eats, those Vietnamese/ Saigon sweet desserts came knocking on my not-so-subconscious-mind. I've decided to get my brand new Rival crockpot to use, count every mung bean I can find in my refrigerator and slow cooked some sweet mung bean dessert. To start out a good mung bean dessert recipe, I did not neglect my favorite sort of yammy craving - "taro", hmmm-so-yummy ! :) My last favorite ingredient to make this complete, mini tapioca pearls. This petite little things are almost translucent and bit doughy, reminds me of those green doughy floured strips in one of the many desserts Wandering Chopsticks manage to terrorised. I like it that way. I've also substitute regular sugar with rock sugar as this would deliver a smooth, creamy appeal to the dessert. Just like how you adore the scent of vanilla bean when baking, I like the scent of the screwpine leaf & loves how a couple of leaves does wonders to the flavor of this mung bean dessert recipe.

A quick snap this Monday morning, I creamed in a bowl OR two before I head out to a cheery, winter day ?:)

Ingredients :
1/2 a taro ( cut into small cubes )
1 can coconut milk
16 oz yellow mung beans
10 oz mini tapioca pearls
2 big pc. Rock sugar ( You can use tiny crystallised sugar for easy dissolve. )
2 pc. screwpine leaf
2 Qts water ( OR any amount that will cover the beans and taro in the crockpot )

Method :
1) Place the taro cubes, washed yellow mung beans, rock sugar, and water in the crockpot. Cook on high for a minimum 4 hours.
2) Add the coconut milk, mini tapioca pearls and cook for an additional 1 hour and then switch from cook to warm.