Luk Chup

Ingredients

Bean paste

• 250 gsplit mung beans, skinned
• 200 mlthick coconut milk
• 180 gcaster sugar
• 1/2 tspsalt

Jelly coating

• 10 gagar agar powder
• 700 mlwater
• 100 gcaster sugar

To paint

• food colouring in several colours
• fine paintbrushes
• a small palette or saucers

Equipment

• cocktail sticks or fine skewers
• a block of foam or a potato, to stand them in
• small moulds or tools for shaping, if you have them

Directions

1. Use split skinned mung beans, which are pale yellow. Rinse them several times until the water runs clear. Cover them with cold water and soak them overnight. They will swell to about double.
2. Drain the soaked beans thoroughly. Steaming keeps them dry, which matters for the paste. Line a steamer basket with a cloth. Steam the drained beans for about thirty minutes. They should crush completely between your fingers.
3. Blend the hot beans with the coconut milk until completely smooth. Push it through a fine sieve if it is not perfectly smooth. Put the blended beans in a wide non-stick pan. Add the sugar and the salt to it. Cook it over a low heat, stirring constantly. This takes twenty-five to thirty minutes and cannot be hurried.
4. Roll a little into a ball: it should not slump or crack. Now cooling it, which takes an hour. Cover it with cling film pressed onto the surface. Let it cool completely to room temperature.
5. Knead it briefly before shaping to make it pliable. Take small pieces and roll them into balls. Work each one into the shape of a fruit or vegetable. Keep them small, no bigger than a cherry. Use a cocktail stick to score details and make indentations. Keep the unused paste covered so it does not dry.
6. Stand them upright in a block of foam or a halved potato. Now painting, which is done before the jelly. Let each layer dry before adding the next. Blend colours where a real fruit would, such as a mango’s blush.
7. Let them dry completely, which takes about an hour. Wet paint will bleed into the jelly. Whisk the agar powder into the cold water in a pan. Let it stand for ten minutes to hydrate. Add the sugar and bring it to the boil, whisking. Boil it for two minutes to activate the agar fully.
8. Take it off the heat and let it cool slightly. You need it liquid but not hot enough to melt the bean paste. Keep the pan over a bowl of warm water to hold the temperature. It will thicken as it cools and must be rewarmed periodically.
9. Dip each shape into the jelly and lift it straight out. Let the excess drip off for a moment. Stand it back in the foam to set. Wait five minutes and dip it again. Each coat should be thin, since a thick one looks cloudy. Let them set completely, over about thirty minutes. Pull the cocktail sticks out carefully with a twist.
10. Trim any drip of jelly from the base with scissors. Arrange them in a small dish or a box. Do not refrigerate them, since the jelly weeps.

Technique

• Cook the bean paste until it pulls away from the pan in one mass, or the shapes sag.
• Let the painted colour dry completely, since wet paint bleeds into the jelly.
• Keep the agar liquid but not hot, and build three or four thin coats.

Substitutions

• Gelatine in place of agar, though it is softer and less traditional.
• Natural colourings such as pandan and butterfly pea.

Variations

• Made as a single flavour and shaped as one fruit.
• With durian or jackfruit flavouring in the paste.
• Made larger, as individual sweets rather than a set.

History

A palace sweet of the Ayutthaya court refined under Marie Guimar, the Portuguese-Japanese cook of Narai’s reign.

Frequently asked questions

What is Luk Chup?

Luk Chup is a dessert from Thailand: mung bean paste modelled into tiny fruits, painted and dipped in clear jelly. A palace sweet of the Ayutthaya court refined under Marie Guimar, the Portuguese-Japanese cook of Narai’s reign.

How long does Luk Chup take to make?

Luk Chup takes 2 hours plus overnight soaking of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 30 pieces. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Luk Chup?

Yes, within limits. Gelatine in place of agar, though it is softer and less traditional. Natural colourings such as pandan and butterfly pea.

What is the most important thing to get right in Luk Chup?

Take it off the heat and let it cool slightly. You need it liquid but not hot enough to melt the bean paste. Keep the pan over a bowl of warm water to hold the temperature. It will thicken as it cools and must be rewarmed periodically.