A whole category rather than one dish: sweet soups and puddings built from beans, sticky rice, tapioca, fruit, jellies, and coconut milk, served warm or over ice.
An afternoon treat or late-night snack, eaten with a spoon from a glass, frequently bought from a small stall or a neighbor who makes it well.
Nationwide
Huế is famous for its enormous variety of small, refined chè. Southern chè tends toward generous coconut milk and ice. Northern chè is often simpler.
Chè is one of the most common ways Vietnamese sweetness is expressed — cooling, bean-based, and not especially sugary by Western dessert standards.