Red Bean Soup

Red Bean Soup (Simplified Chinese: 红豆沙 / 红豆汤; Traditional Chinese: 紅豆沙 / 紅豆湯; Pinyin: Hóngdòu shā / Hóngdòu tāng) is a Chinese sweet dessert soup made by simmering adzuki beans with sugar until soft or mashed into a thick sweet puree. In Cantonese cuisine it belongs to the tong sui (糖水) sweet-soup category served in dessert shops. It is a sweet bean soup, not a savory bean stew or chili bean dish.

Characteristics

Color is deep reddish-brown; texture ranges from whole beans in thin syrup to smooth paste-like 红豆沙. Often enriched with lotus seeds, orange peel, or glutinous rice balls. Served hot in winter or chilled in summer depending on shop style.

Ingredients (overview)

Adzuki (red) beans, rock sugar or white sugar, water; optional lotus seeds, dried tangerine peel, coconut milk, or glutinous-rice dumplings. Distinct from savory red-braised dishes.

History and culture

Everyday Chinese dessert across regions; Cantonese dessert cafés feature it with Grass Jelly, mango desserts, and other tong sui. English menus say "red bean soup" or "sweet red bean soup." Related sweet soups appear on Hong Kong Food café culture pages.

Serving and variations

Dessert after meals or as a standalone sweet soup. See Hong Kong Food, Grass Jelly, and Almond Tofu.

See also

• Hong Kong Food
• Grass Jelly
• Almond Tofu
• Mango Pudding
• Put Chai Ko
• List of dishes (A-Z)