Thursday, September 25, 2008

what I did...

I wanted to share with you what I did with a can of coconut milk.

Earlier this year, I found some tri-colored tapioca at the gourmet supermarket. When I saw this, I immediately thought of coconut pearls, the dessert you get at some Chinese restaurants in Hawaii.

I love this dessert. It is sweet and coconutty. Most times when you get this at the Chinese restaurant, the bowl is ice cold and so is the "soup"...delicious.

I googled and found a recipe on the Internet. It sounded easy. It was, once I prepared the tapioca.

Get this, the package said I could boil the tapioca for an hour or soak the tapioca overnight then boil them to the softness that I wanted....I chose the boiling for one hour.

Doesn't the tapioca look like candy? I loved the colors. (This was my first time with tapioca, is it supposed to have a chewy center? It reminded me of mochi.)

So, with the can of Chaokoh coconut milk, I decided to be oinky and make two desserts out of them (because two is better than one!).

the first...coconut pearls...the second...haupia.

Haupia is a coconut pudding served in Hawaii. My favorite combination is haupia with chocolate, preferably with a flaky crust...yum!

Here's both recipes if you'd like to give them a try.

Coconut pearls adapted from the Internet (makes about 6: 1/2 cup servings)

1/2 cup tapioca, follow package directions
1-1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 cup coconut milk

After cooking your tapioca, get the "soup" ready.
In a pot, add the water and sugar and heat until sugar dissolves.
Add the milk and warm.
When warm, turn off heat and add coconut milk.
Chill mixture and tapioca separately for at least an hour.
Add tapioca just before serving, as it will turn mixture bitter.
Serve as is or with diced fruits like honeydew or cantaloupe.

Haupia adapted from "Sam Choy's Sampler" (2 "Sam" portions or 8-10 "Kat" portions (about 2 teaspoons each))

1 cup coconut milk
2-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2-1/2 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt

Mix everything in a pot until sugar is dissolved.
Heat on medium stirring constantly, use a whisk to make sure everything is incorporated without lumps.
When the mixture begins to thicken, turn off heat.
You can serve warm or chill for at least an hour.
Good with fruits too.

NOTES: For the coconut pearls, the original recipe states not to boil the coconut milk as it will make the "soup" very oily. The haupia is the real deal! beats those NOH haupia packets. Overall, both recipes were delicious, easy and fast!

15 comments:

  1. we too have a sweet dessert 'soup' with tapioca in my country. It is known as "bubur chacha".

    we add cubes of boiled/steamed sweet potatoes and yam with the tapioco to this sweet coconut concoction.

    I would love to try your other dessert, haupia, one day.

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  2. Is your dessert served cold or warm, Peony? It sounds delicious!
    I hope you get to try haupia soon.

    Take care.
    Kat

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  3. pretty wedding color tapioca beads. i LOVE coconut and will try your pudding recipe one of these days. thank you!

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  4. I hope you like the pudding recipe, Bourgogne :)

    Take care.
    Kat

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  5. Love the 2 "Sam" portions or 8-10 "Kat" portions--so true and so funny! ;-)

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  6. Thanks Deb :) glad I made you smile.

    Take care.
    Kat

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  7. yum, love tapioca desserts with coconut milk

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  8. I have a can of coconut milk sitting here ready to go but for the haupia, is it 2-1/2 T or 2-1/2 tsp of sugar?

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  9. Thanks Bea :)

    Sorry Gwen, 2-1/2 tablespoons sugar, I'll fix the post :) Thanks for the heads up.

    Take care you two.
    Kat

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  10. kat
    you can serve the bubur chacha either hot or cold.

    it's delicious both ways.

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  11. Thanks Peony! will google around for a recipe :)

    Take care.
    Kat

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  12. Yum! I love haupia, especially in Ted's Bakery chocolate haupia pie!

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  13. Hi T,
    mmm, Ted's chocolate haupia pie is so good...sigh!

    Take care.
    Kat

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  14. Yeah this is it! Oh please, please have those tapioca pearls in Milan.

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  15. ooh, I hope they have these for you Rowena. crossing my fingers.

    Take care.
    Kat

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