Every time we make a trip to the Asian market in the summer, we stock on red bean Popsicles. For me, it is a sweet treat that reminds me of my childhood. For my husband Thomas, it is a nostalgic food that brings him back to his adventurous days of living in China. You might find sweetening and freezing beans into an ice pop to be a weird idea. But if you grew up in Asia or you’ve tried these sweet bean treats while traveling, you know how delightful they are. Back in the early 90s, making a trip to get my weekly sweet treat was almost a ritual. My grandpa would load me onto his three-wheeled rickshaw and slowly ride through the bumpy road in the hot sun. It took 15 minutes to get to the Popsicle stand at the vegetable market. Those stands didn’t even use fridges, which would have been a luxury. They’d hide the ice pops in several layers of thick cotton blankets in a wooden cart to keep them cold. My favorite part was seeing the street vendor flipping through the blankets to fetch a Popsicle. It was like watching a magician pull a rabbit from his hat.
Fast forward to 2010, when I’d just met Thomas, I was surprised to see him getting a red bean pop from 7-Eleven. “Most of my foreign colleagues would pass on the bean Popsicles and go straight for the chocolate-coated ice cream bars,” I told him. But deep down, I was giggling because Asian culture had caught onto him. When we finished our latest batch of store-bought red bean Popsicles, I decided to make a batch at home using my new Vitamix blender. The whole cooking process required some patience, but it was so simple and straightforward.
Start by soaking dry beans overnight. Then simmer them until tender. Blend the beans with milk until smooth and silky. Add a small cup of whole beans for a bit of chewy texture. You can adjust the blending time, so the bean paste will reach the desired consistency. Add condensed milk and blend again. This is a key ingredient to making creamy popsicles, just the way we like them. Transfer the mixture into popsicle molds, resisting the temptation to drink the whole batch of the mixture, and freeze them.
That’s it!
These red bean Popsicles are creamy with chewy beans inside, moderately sweet, and very refreshing. Not to mention that each serving only contains just 158 calories. So it is one of those desserts that I have no guilt eating every evening. It was raining heavily throughout the past weekend. We decided the best way to spend the day would be to stay indoors and catch up on our favorite shows. After dinner, we both fetched red bean Popsicles at the same time. Chewing on the crunchy beans while watching the season finale of Game of Thrones felt like home.
More Asian sweet treats
4-Ingredient No-Churn Black Sesame Ice Cream Sticky Rice Cake with Red Bean Paste Black Rice with Coconut Milk and Fruits Traditional Mooncakes
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
This post is sponsored by Vitamix. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you so much for supporting the companies that keep this blog going.
