Vietnamese Refreshing Iced Dessert Drink with Seaweed, Lotus Seeds, Jujubes, Longans and Pearl Barley (Che Sam Bo Luong)

Vietnamese Refreshing Iced Dessert Drink with Seaweed, Lotus Seeds, Jujube, Longan and Pearl Barley (Che Sam Bo Luong)

Che Sam Bo Luong is a refreshing Vietnamese iced dessert drink made with an assortment of dried Chinese/Vietnamese herbal ingredients, including red jujubes/dates (Tao Do), thinly sliced seaweed/kelp (Rong Bien), longans (Nhan Nhuc), lotus seeds (Hat Sen) and pearl barley (Bo Bo). Other variations include snow fungus, cassava roots, ginger roots, lotus roots, and goji berries.

Some people like to put all the ingredients together in a big pot (like me) as it takes up less fridge space. I simply scoop all the ingredients in a tall glass, add a bit of the sweet liquid, then top it off with rice. In restaurants, they like to store all the ingredients separately and layer the ingredients in the glass for a more appealing look. This also allows for customization.

If you are looking to cool yourself down on a hot summer day and get a ton of health benefits of Chinese herbal medicine without that strong, god-awful herbal smell, look no further than Che Sam Bo Luong.

Vietnamese Refreshing Iced Dessert Drink with Seaweed, Lotus Seeds, Jujube, Longan and Pearl Barley (Che Sam Bo Luong)

Vietnamese Refreshing Iced Dessert Drink with Seaweed, Lotus Seeds, Jujubes, Longans and Pearl Barley (Che Sam Bo Luong)

Makes 8-12 servings

Ingredients

Dried Ingredients

• 5 oz dried lotus seeds (Hat Sen)
• 5 oz pearl barley (Bo Bo)
• 2 cups thinly sliced dried seaweed/kelp (Rong Bien)
• 5 oz dried longans (Nhan Nhuc)
• 2 cups dried red jujubes/dates (Tao Do)

Syrup

• 4 cups presoaking liquid from dried longans plus 10 cups water
• 1-1/2 cups brown sugar, palm sugar or rock sugar

Instructions

1. Rinse all dried ingredients to remove any dirt and debris.
2. Presoak the lotus seeds and pearl barley in different bowls for 4-6 hours. Presoak the seaweed/kelp, dried longan and jujubes/dates in different bowls for one hour. For the dried longan, soak with 4 cups water so we can save the soaking liquid. Once dried ingredients have been presoaked, strain, rinse and drain dry.
3. Bring a medium-size pot to a boil and blanch dried seaweed/kelp for 3-5 minutes. Remove seaweed/kelp pearl with a large sieve. Add pearl barley to the pot and cook until softened. Remove with a large strainer. Discard all liquid from the pot.
4. Add 10 cups water to the pot along with the 4 cups presoaking liquid from dried logans. Bring the pot to a boil. Cook the lotus seeds on a low simmer until softened (about 15-25 minutes).
5. Add jujubes/dates to the pot with the lotus seeds and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then return all other cooked ingredients (pearl barley and seaweed/kelp) and presoaked longans. Add sugar, a bit at a time,to your liking.
6. Store drink in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, scoop the mixture into tall glasses. Top with syrup water and crushed ice.