Name: Ice Kacang
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Singapore
Ingredients: 100 g dried red (azuki) beans, soaked overnight; 3 tbsp sugar, for the beans; 100 g sweet corn kernels, cooked; 100 g grass jelly, cubed; 80 g attap chee (palm seed), or substitute lychee; 1 kg shaved ice; 4 tbsp rose syrup; 4 tbsp pandan or sarsi syrup; 150 ml evaporated milk

Ice kacang used to be called ice kacang because red beans, "kacang" in Malay, were the main thing under the ice. Today the mound usually carries sweet corn, jelly and palm seed too, all buried under shaved ice and bright syrup.

This is assembly more than cooking, once the beans are done. Build it fast, pour the syrups generously, and eat it before the ice turns into a puddle, which does not take long on a warm day.

Part of our 20 best Singapore recipes list.

method

Simmer the soaked red beans in plenty of water for 45 to 50 minutes, until completely soft. Add the sugar in the last 10 minutes and let them cool.

Arrange the cooked red beans, sweet corn, grass jelly cubes and attap chee in the bottom of serving bowls.

Pile the shaved ice high on top, mounding it into a dome.

Drizzle generously with rose syrup and pandan or sarsi syrup, letting the colors run down the sides of the ice.

Finish with a good pour of evaporated milk over the top and serve immediately, with a long spoon, before it melts.

chef's tips

Evaporated milk, not condensed milk, is traditional here. The syrups already carry plenty of sugar, and evaporated milk adds creaminess without piling on more sweetness.
A hand-cranked or electric ice shaver gives you the fine, snow-like texture this dessert is named for. Crushed ice from a blender is chunkier and melts faster, but works in a pinch.
Cook extra red beans and freeze them in portions. They are the one component that takes real time, and the rest assembles in minutes.
Eat it fast. This dessert is built to be eaten before the ice melts, not slowly.