Hue was known as home of various kinds of sweet soup. Many fruit, nuts, tubers or even barbecue pork are used as ingredients of this traditional delicacy. Sweet soup may be served at the end of the meal, mid-afternoon and party, etc. There are more than 50 kinds of sweet soup in Hue.
The two most famous ones are made from lotus seed and longan. To prepare “che hat sen”, the cook has lotus seeds skinned and their plumules removed. Having been washed and steamed, lotus seeds are cooked in sugar or stone sugar water. The finished dish must be elegantly smell and have mild sweetness. For “che nhan boc hat sen” (lotus seed and longan sweet soup), lotus seeds which are covered in longan are simmered. It is impressed diners by the tasty lotus seeds and the mild sweetness of longan.
"Che dau ngu" (kidney bean sweet soup): Skinned kidney beans are steamed or cooked. Then, they are cooked with stone sugar or granulated white sugar over small fire.
“Che dau xanh” (mung bean sweet soup): There are many kinds of sweet soup can be made from mung beans such as "che xanh hot" (mung bean sweet soup), "che xanh danh" (split and skinned mung bean and "che bong cau" (areca nut's flower sweet soup). "Che bong cau" is made from split and skinned mung beans which are cooked in sugar water. The finished sweet soup must have clear liquid and beans looking like areca nut's flower. "Che bong cau" also come in thicker version thanks to tapioca flour.
"Che dau den" (black bean sweet soup): black beans are soaked in water until they are soft enough. When beans are well cooked, sugar is added. The cook may add some tapioca flour to create thick black bean sweet soup.
"Che dau van" (hyacinth bean sweet soup): dried hyacinth beans are steamed then cooked in sugar water. Its thick version is made by adding some tapioca flour.
"Che mon" (taro sweet soup): This dish is made from taro, glutinous rice, boiled skinned peanut and ginger. It has the distinctive smell of ginger and the tenderness of taro. Of taro sweet soups, "che mon sap vang" (the yellow taro sweet soup) has pretty special flavor.
"Che khoai tia" (purple potato sweet soup): The main material, purple potato is cooked, peeled and cut into small pieces before being cooked for the second time. Then, it is crushed, cooked with sugar in the water previously used to boil purple potato until a thick mixture is formed.
"Che khoai mai" (Chinese yam sweet soup): Made from Chinese yam slices or flours, this folk sweet soup is simply cooked with sugar water.
“Che bot binh tinh” (arrowroot flour sweet soup): The flour is simply mixed with sugar and boiled water. However, the cook must carefully pour the water and stir the mixture well. The dish is finished when the arrowroot flour is boiled, little arrowroot balls which are clear outside and white inside are formed.
To make "che hat luu" (pomegranate seeds sweet soup), arrowroot flour or tapioca flour is kneaded, cut into small pieces like pomegranate seeds. Later, they are steamed and cooked with sugar water.
"Che bap" (corn sweet soup), a well-known dish in Hen Islet is made from corns cooked with sugar and the water used to boil corncob. The dish is not only glutinous but also mildly sweet.
“Che ke” (millet sweet soup): Skinned millet are washed and well cooked, then sugar is added.
"Che nep" (glutinous rice sweet soup): Glutinous rice is cooked like porridge. Then, ginger and sugar are added.
"Che nem" (Chinese chive sweet soup): After Chinese chives are washed and well cooked, sugar is added.
"Che nha dam" (aloe vera sweet soup): Aloe vera leaves are peeled, cut into square slices and cooked in sugar water. After being cooked, aloe vera pieces must be mildly sweet and still keep their shapes.
"Che troi nuoc" (glutinous rice balls sweet soup): Glutinous rice balls are cooked with ginger in sugar water. It has the fragrance of ginger and roasted sesame.
"Che bot loc" (tapioca flour sweet soup): Tapioca flour is made into noodle-like strips or balls and cooked with sugar and ginger. Although tapioca flour sweet soup is pretty sticky, it is not classified as thick sweet soup. Tapioca flour balls may be filled with roasted peanut, coconut or even barbecue pork.
"Che hat e" (basil seed sweet soup): Making basil seed sweet soup, the cook pour boiled sugar water into a bowl of basil seeds and stir well. As soon as basil seeds absorb enough water, lemon juice is added.
There are many kinds of fruit used to prepare sweet soup such as banana, litchi, longan, mango, jackfruit, pineapple, etc. They are peeled, cut into small pieces and cooked in sugar water. Fruits may be separately used or mixed together.
"Che thap cam" (mixed sweet soup): As its name suggests, this dish is a mixture of different types of sweet soup. It is often served with coconut milk and roasted peanut.