Red Bean and Black Glutinous Rice Soup

Soft red beans and chewy black glutinous rice result in an ultra-creamy and rich soup! Coconut milk also adds richness to this simple and hearty dessert.  

Red bean and black glutinous rice soup is a great dessert to enjoy any time of the year, but especially during the lunar new year. It is an easy tong sui: a sweet soup served as dessert in Cantonese cuisine. 

This is very similar to the more well-known Chinese red bean soup recipe. The black glutinous rice helps to thicken the soup naturally, as well as add some chewiness and nuttiness. (It also has fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for a healthy boost of nutrients!)

If you have an instant pot, this soup is very easy to make. You throw most of the ingredients into the pressure cooker to cook and boil the tapioca pearls on the side. Then, you stir everything together to finish your instant pot red bean soup! 

Notes

1. Black glutinous rice is also sometimes called purple rice.
2. Rock sugar will dissolve into the soup faster if it is crushed into smaller pieces first. 
   • If you do not have rock sugar, you can use granulated sugar instead. If you do, make sure to decrease the sugar because granulated sugar is sweeter. 
3. This recipe is super flexible, so you can experiment with:
   1. your own ratio of black glutinous rice to red bean
   2. the amount of sugar
   3. the addition of coconut milk
   4. the amount of water. 
4. You can also make this Chinese dessert soup a little more complex by adding other ingredients such as:
   1. Lotus seeds, goji berries, and longan into the soup
   2. Glutinous rice balls and taro/sweet potato balls as toppings

Print Recipe

Red Bean and Black Glutinous Rice Soup

Soft red beans and chewy black glutinous rice result in an ultra-creamy and rich soup! Coconut milk also adds richness to this simple and hearty dessert.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cantonese, Chinese

Keyword: black glutinous rice recipe, black glutinous rice soup, Chinese dessert soup, Chinese red bean soup, instant pot red bean soup

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 250kcal

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups adzuki beans 300 grams
• 3/4 cup black glutinous rice 135 grams
• 6-8 cups water 6 cups for a thicker soup, 8 cups for a thinner soup
• 1 mandarin peel white pith removed (optional)
• 150 g rock sugar Note 1
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/4 cup tapioca pearls 40 grams

Instructions

• Wash the adzuki beans and black glutinous rice a few times.
• Add the washed beans and rice to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Also add in the water and optional mandarin peel.
• Close and seal the Instant Pot. Set it to high pressure for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes of pressure cooking, let the pot natural release for 10 minutes before manually releasing the rest of the pressure. Note 2
• While the soup is pressure cooking, cook the tapioca pearls. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in the tapioca pearls and boil them for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, turn off the heat and cover the pot with a lid. Let the pearls soak in the hot water for 15 minutes. Note 3
• Remove the optional mandarin peel. Drain and add the tapioca pearls to the soup along with the rock sugar and coconut milk. Stir and let the rock sugar melt completely.
• Serve warm or cold. The soup will thicken as it cools

Notes

1. You can substitute with granulated sugar, but you’ll need to decrease the amount of sugar (granulated sugar is sweeter than rock sugar).
2. Make sure to let the pot naturally release for 10. If you manually release right away, some of the soup contents may spew out.
3. When the tapioca pearls are fully cooked, the pearls are completely transparent with no white spot in the middle. If there is a white spot after the boiling and soaking, add the pearls to a fresh pot of water and boil again until the white spot is gone.

How to Make Red Bean and Black Glutinous Rice Soup (Instant Pot)

Wash the adzuki beans and black glutinous rice a few times. 

Add the washed beans and rice to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Also, add in the water and the optional mandarin peel. 

Close and seal the Instant Pot. Set it to high pressure for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes of pressure cooking, let the pot naturally release for 10 minutes before manually releasing the remaining pressure. **Make sure to let the Instant pot naturally release for 10. If you manually release right away, some of the soup contents may spew out of the lid.

While the soup is pressure cooking, cook the tapioca pearls. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the tapioca pearls and boil them for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then, turn off the heat and cover the pot with a lid. Let the pearls soak in the hot water for 15 minutes. **When the tapioca pearls are fully cooked, the pearls are completely transparent with no white spot in the middle. If there is a white spot after the boiling and soaking, add the pearls to a fresh pot of water and boil again until the white spot is gone.  

Remove the optional mandarin peel. Drain and add the tapioca pearls to the soup along with the rock sugar and coconut milk. Stir and let the rock sugar melt completely. **Crush the rock sugar to help it melt faster

Serve warm or cold. The soup will continue to thicken as it cools.