How to Make Vietnamese Pumpkin Sweet Soup

Preparing the ingredients

Peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds and inner fibers, wash it thoroughly, and slice it into thin pieces.

For the best pumpkin sweet soup, choose mature pumpkins that are firm with a white powdery coating on the skin. When pressed, the pumpkin should feel solid, not soft.

Rinse the mung beans and soak them in warm water for 20-30 minutes, then drain well.

Cooking the pumpkin and mung bean sweet soup

Place the pumpkin and mung beans in a pot and add 1 liter of water, based on the ingredient quantities provided.

To ensure the soup is not too thick or too thin, use the ratio of 850ml of water for every 1 liter of soup (approximately 10 bowls of soup).

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Blend the cooked pumpkin and mung beans in a blender until smooth, then pour the mixture back into the pot. Blending the ingredients helps create a smooth and thick texture, and it reduces the cooking time.

If you choose not to blend, simmer the pumpkin and mung beans for at least 30 minutes until they are very soft. Stir with a spoon to achieve a smooth consistency, ensuring there are no lumps or uneven pieces. However, cooking for too long may reduce the nutritional value of the pumpkin.

Once blended, return the pot to medium heat and add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Adjust the sugar level according to your preferred sweetness. When the soup boils, lower the heat.

In a small bowl, mix the tapioca starch with a little cold water, then slowly pour it into the soup while stirring to prevent clumping. Adjust the amount of tapioca starch depending on your desired thickness. More tapioca will make the soup thicker, while less will result in a thinner texture.

Cook for another 2 minutes, then turn off the heat and ladle the pumpkin sweet soup into bowls. To enhance the flavor, drizzle some coconut milk on top.