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1
Combine the soaked, drained mung beans with 800 ml of the water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the beans are completely tender and just beginning to collapse. They should offer no resistance when pressed between the fingers.
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2
In a separate pan, bring the remaining 400 ml water to a rolling boil. Add the tapioca pearls, stirring immediately to prevent clumping. Cook, stirring frequently, until the pearls are fully translucent with no white centre remaining — this is the point at which they are done.
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3
In a third pan, simmer the glutinous rice balls in water until they float clear to the surface and hold their shape without sticking together. Remove with a slotted spoon.
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4
Combine the cooked mung beans and their liquid, the lotus seeds, and the palm sugar in a large saucepan over low heat. Stir gently until the sugar has dissolved completely and the broth smells sweetly of palm. This is where the dish lives or dies: the broth must be delicately sweet — neither cloying nor flat — and the balance, once fixed here, cannot be corrected later without diluting the body of the soup.
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5
Stir in the coconut milk and a pinch of salt. Warm through over the lowest heat without allowing the mixture to boil, which would cause the coconut milk to separate. The surface should tremble but not bubble.
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6
Add the cooked tapioca pearls, the glutinous rice balls, and the jackfruit strips. Stir once to combine. Taste: the broth should be sweet, lightly rich, and rounded by the salt.
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7
Ladle into bowls. For cold service, pack crushed ice into the bowl before ladling the chè over it. The contrast — warm, yielding solids against cold ice and broth — is the hallmark of the tradition.