The weather in Seattle had been straight rain for several days, which makes me crave warm desserts. This sweet dessert soup is inspired by the Taiwanese dessert shop, Meet Fresh. I love their Taiwanese shaved ice, but in this weather, all I want is a bowl of their hot almond soup.
For the mochi, depending on the water content of the taro you may need to adjust the ratios. If the dough is too wet, add a little extra starch and if it’s too dry, add some water. However, be careful not to overwork your dough or else the mochi might become too chewy.
When dividing the dough, you could simply cut the dough into bite size pieces and eat them as is. However, I like the added surprise of red bean filling. The downside is that it takes a lot longer to add the red bean to the center of each dough ball. I promise it’s worth the extra time and effort though!
The almond soup is like a creamier and sweeter almond milk. We ran ours through a sieve the first time, but the soup was still a little too gritty. The soup texture was much better when we used a cheesecloth.
As you can see in our pictures, our soup is very creamy. I like the almond soup to be creamier, so it feels more like a dessert and less like a drink. However, feel free to add more dairy free milk if you want the soup to be less thick.
Keep your mochi in your almond soup, not the floor,
Your favorite alternative chefs, K & T
Almond Dessert Soup with Red Bean Stuffed Taro Mochi
Ingredients
Taro mochi
- ½ lb peeled taro quartered
- 2 tbsp sugar
- ½ cup tapioca or sweet potato starch
- 2-4 tbsp water
- ¼ cup red bean paste optional
Almond soup
- 2 cups almonds soaked in water for 8 hours
- 4 cups water
- 2 tbsp rice soaked in water for an hour
- 4 rock sugar
- ¼ cup dairy free milk as needed
Instructions
Taro mochi
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Steam taro for 20 – 30 minutes until soft. (This can be done in the InstantPot using the Steam function for 15 minutes).
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Smash taro and mix in sugar while taro is still hot. Add sweet potato or tapioca starch and knead to form a ball. Add 1 tbsp water at a time as needed, if the dough gets too dry.
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Divide dough into 4 portions and roll into a thin log. Cut dough into bite size mochi pieces. Dust with sweet potato or tapioca starch to avoid sticking.
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If using red bean, roll it into tiny balls. Flatten each piece of dough and wrap it around the red bean like a dumpling.
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Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add taro mochi to the water and cook until they float.
Almond soup
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Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, then let cool slightly.
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Add the 2 cups boiled water, almonds, and rice into a blender and blend until smooth.
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Strain the almond mixture through a cheesecloth.
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Pour strained mixture into a pot and heat over medium heat for 15 minutes whisking frequently. Add in rock sugar and cook until sugar dissolves. If almond soup is too thick, add more dairy free milk as needed.