Thai Tapioca Pudding Recipes

TROPICAL THAI COCONUT-TAPIOCA PUDDING

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a medium bowl, cover tapioca with 1 cup water.
• Let soak for 15 to 20 minutes or until the granules expand slightly. Avoid over-soaking or the tapioca will not be able to hold its shape.
• Pour off excess water.
• In a pot with a lid, combine tapioca, salt, and the remaining 2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir occasionally, adding a little more water if necessary to prevent tapioca from bubbling and "spitting."
• When the tapioca turns soft and a little gooey, turn off the heat and place the lid on tight. Let it sit at least 10 minutes. The residual heat inside the tapioca will finish turning all of the seeds soft and translucent.
• Remove the lid and allow the tapioca to cool on the stovetop.
• Cover it again and refrigerate until it's cold; it will thicken and gel together.
• To serve, scoop about 1/4 cup or more of the cold tapioca per person and place in serving glasses or bowls.
• Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup coconut milk over each portion and stir to mix. This pudding should be on the runny side and you will have to stir it well to distribute the tapioca.
• Add a little syrup to each portion (about 1 tablespoon or to taste). Each person can add more according to their preferred sweetness.
• Add slices of fresh mango or any tropical fresh fruit, if desired.

THAI TAPIOCA PUDDING

Steps:

• RINSE tapioca in sieve or strainer under cold water 15 to 20 seconds.
• BRING water to boil in small saucepan. Add tapioca; cook 10 to 12 minutes on medium heat until tapioca is translucent, stirring frequently to avoid sticking. Stir in coconut milk, sugar and salt. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 to 7 minutes or until pudding thickens slightly, stirring frequently.
• LET stand 20 minutes. Serve warm or refrigerate until chilled. Serve with mango slices or lychee, if desired.

CLASSIC TAPIOCA PUDDING

Steps:

• Stir together the milk, tapioca, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 5 minutes longer.
• Whisk 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the beaten eggs, 2 tablespoons at a time until incorporated. Stir the egg mixture back into the tapioca until well mixed. Bring the pudding to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer until the pudding becomes thick enough to evenly coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. The pudding may be served hot or poured into serving dishes and refrigerated several hours until cold.

CAMBODIAN TAPIOCA-BANANA PUDDING

Steps:

• Place 2 cups of water in a microwave-safe dish and heat until warm in the microwave, about 2 minutes. Add the tapioca and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain in a sieve. You'll have a mushy puddle of tapioca left over.
• Pour the remaining water into a saucepan and add the drained tapioca. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat until the tapioca begins to turn transparent. Stir frequently to avoid sticking.
• When the tapioca is transparent, stir in the bananas, sugar and salt. Simmer for 10 to 15 more minutes, stirring frequently. When the bananas are broken down fairly well, remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk until well blended. The tapioca pearls will become visible and the pudding will be the consistency of thick soup. Taste and adjust the sugar if desired.
• Cool to room temperature or slightly warmer. Stir again before serving.

THAI TAPIOCA PUDDING

Steps:

• Rinse tapioca in cool tap water. Drain.
• Place in saucepan with 6 cups water.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Drain and rinse.
• Combine coconut milk and 2 cups water in a clean saucepan.
• Add tapioca to milk mixture and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
• Add sugar and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
• Remove from heat.
• Taste and add more sugar or salt as needed.
• Let mixture sit in saucepan for 30 minutes.
• Pour into dessert glasses and serve warm. Serves 8.
• Variation: Serve chilled with 1/4 cup diced honeydew melon added to each serving.

THAI STYLE TAPIOCA PUDDING

Steps:

• 1. Cover the tapioca with 1 cup water for 15-20 minutes, or until granules expand slightly. 2. Place tapioca, pinch of salt, and 2.5 cups water in a pot over high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir occasionally, adding a little more water (if necessary) to prevent tapioca from bubbling and "spitting". 3. When tapioca turns soft and a little "gooey", switch off heat and place lid on tight. Let tapioca sit at least 10 minutes - the residual heat inside the tapioca will finish turning all of the 'seeds' soft and translucent. 4. Let tapioca cool on the stove-top, stir in coconut milk then cover with lid and refrigerate until cold.

LOW-CAL TAPIOCA PUDDING

Steps:

• Soak tapioca, covered, in cold water overnight. Drain well and place into slow cooker.
• Add milk, cream and salt. Cook on high 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• In a small bowl, whisk sugar substitute into egg yolk. Temper small amounts of pudding base (1-2 tbsp at a time) into egg yolk to bring the temperature up slowly. When you've added about 1 cup of pudding base, transfer back into slow cooker. Add lemon zest, stir to combine and cook an additional 15 minutes.
• Transfer to a medium bowl. Place a layer of plastic wrap down so it touches the surface of the pudding (to prevent a skin from forming), cool at room temperature for about 1 hour, then refrigerate. Serve cold.
• Substitutions: You can use 3 cups whole milk in place of the skim milk and heavy cream; the fat content will be about the same. Do not use all skim milk - it will be flat and the flavors will be very muted.
• Substitutions: You can leave out the lemon zest and use 1 1/2 tsp good, pure vanilla extract. You could also add 1 tbsp Dutched cocoa powder to the egg yolk and add 2 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate when you add the tempered egg yolk to the pot. Other potential flavorants: maple syrup, Irish Cream liqueur, instant espresso powder, fruit purées -- use your imagination.

COCONUT TAPIOCA PUDDING

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk, milk, sugar, tapioca, and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the saucepan, then drop in the pod. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula to make sure the mixture isn't scorching on the bottom, until the pudding thickens and the tapioca pearls are completely cooked through and translucent, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Briskly stir the egg yolks into the pudding, incorporating them quickly. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the vanilla pod (it can be rinsed, dried, and used for another purpose; see page 14).
• In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment (or in a bowl by hand), whisk the egg whites on medium speed until they form soft peaks. Fold the whipped egg whites into the pudding, then stir in the vanilla extract.
• The pudding can be served warm or cold. Spoon it into individual serving dishes and top with toasted coconut.
• A simple compote of fresh tropical fruit, such as cubes of banana, mangoes, papayas, and pineapple, tossed in brown sugar, is a perfect accompaniment to the pudding.
• Tapioca pudding will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator.
• Small pearl tapioca can be found in Asian markets along with Thai coconut milk, which is also available in well-stocked supermarkets.