''Ching bo leung'' (; also spelt ''ching po leung'' or ''qing bu liang''; ) is a sweet, cold dessert soup of

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

origin and commonly served in

Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( zh, t=廣東菜 or zh, labels=no, t=粵菜), is the cuisine of Cantonese people, associated with the Guangdong, Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guan ...

, Hainanese cuisine and

Guangxi cuisine Guangxi cuisine is the cuisine of Guangxi, China. This cuisine ranges from the Guangdong like cuisine to Huang cuisine. The cuisine is fairly spicy. There is a difference between the city and the countryside cuisine. Guangxi Cuisine can be div ...

. It is a popular dessert in Malaysia and Singapore. It is a type of ''

tong sui ''Tong sui'' (; ) or ''tim tong'' is a general term for any sweet soup served as a dessert typically at the end of a meal in Chinese cuisine. ''Tong sui'' originated in the Lingnan region of China, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hon ...

''. In Singapore it is known as 清汤 ("''Cheng Tng''" in the

Hokkien Hokkien ( , ) is a Varieties of Chinese, variety of the Southern Min group of Chinese language, Chinese languages. Native to and originating from the Minnan region in the southeastern part of Fujian in southeastern China, it is also referred ...

dialect). It is known as ''sâm bổ lượng'' or ''chè sâm bổ lượng'' (''

chè ''Chè'' () is any traditional Vietnamese sweet beverage, dessert soup or stew, or pudding. ''Chè'' includes a wide variety of distinct soups or puddings. Varieties of Chè can be made with mung beans, black-eyed peas, kidney beans, tapioca, ...

'' meaning "sweet soup") in Vietnam. Although the exact recipe may vary, the drink generally contains grains of ''yi mai'' (Chinese pearl barley), dried

longan ''Dimocarpus longan'', commonly known as the longan () and dragon's eye, is a tropical tree species that produces edible fruit. It is one of the better-known tropical members of the soapberry family Sapindaceae, to which the lychee and rambu ...

s, red

jujube Jujube (UK ; US or ), sometimes jujuba, scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'', and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused wit ...

lotus seed Lotus or LOTUS may refer to: Plants * List of plants known as lotus, a list of various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: **'' Nelumbonaceae'', a single-genus family of aquatic flowering plants, consisting of just two species ...

s, and thinly sliced

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of ''Rhodophyta'' (red), '' Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

, with water, sugar, and

crushed ice O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album ''Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popula ...

. In place of the ''yi mai'',

pearl barley Pearl barley, or pearled barley, is barley that has been processed to remove its fibrous outer hull and polished to remove some or all of the bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the component of a Cereal, cereal grain consisting o ...

may sometimes be used, and thinly sliced strips of

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

and/or

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as South China ginseng (''Panax notoginseng, P. notoginseng''), Korean ginseng (''Panax ginseng, P. ginseng''), and American ginseng (''American ginseng, P. quinquefol ...

root, wolfberries, or

ginkgo nuts ''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million year ...

may also appear as ingredients. The Chinese form of the drink, ching bo leung, is the most popular in the

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. It is also popular as a dessert at food & hawker centres in Malaysia and Singapore. It is sometimes known as ''luk mei'' soup (六味汤, ). The Vietnamese version, ''sâm bổ lượng'', is most readily available in Cholon, the

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

, and is generally served in a tall glass. Although it is sometimes described as a drink, the term "soup" is more appropriate, as a spoon is generally necessary to consume the solid ingredients. In

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

, due to the relative abundance of local

coconuts The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

, a frequent unique ingredient used to make qing bu liang would be cold

coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

. In this tropical province, a Hainanese qing bu liang could consist of assorted ingredients that can include

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

, coconut meat or shredded dried coconut, cooked mung beans, red kidney beans, taro, quail eggs, bean jelly, red jujubes and then combined with brown sugar syrup, ice, coconut water or coconut milk, and sometimes a few scoops of

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

. The dish is believed to help "dispel heat" from the body and is popular during the typical hot Hainan weather where there are a prolific number of qing bu liang shops and dessert stands in the tropical island province with varying ingredients and flavours.

References

External links

Article about ''sâm bổ lượng''Photo of ''sâm bổ lượng''
Chinese cuisine Chinese soups Vietnamese soups Cold soups Barley-based dishes {{vietnam-cuisine-stub

See also

References

External links