Vietnamese Coconut Tapioca "Soup" Pudding

I never seem to remember how much I love tapioca puddings. I think it's the texture that makes it so appealing for me personally. A local Vietnamese sandwich shop frequently has a delicious coconut tapioca pudding with bananas, only it's not firm like the tapioca puddings I'm used to; it's much more loose/watery. I finally got around to making my own tonight!

Coconut Tapioca "Soup" Pudding

Coconut Tapioca "Soup" Pudding (Che Chuoi)

Adapted from myRecipes and Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 C water
• 1 14oz can coconut milk
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 C small tapioca pearls
• 2 large bananas

Method

1. In a medium sized saucepan, combine the water and coconut milk and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add in sugar, salt, and tapioca pearls, stirring to prevent the tapioca from clumping.
2. Turn heat down to low and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up tapioca pearls.
3. Halve each banana and cut into small 1/4" pieces. Add banana to the pan. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes.

Serve tapioca warm or chill in fridge and serve cold.

I cut down on the sugar, but I think next time I will try with even less sugar, using perhaps 1/4 cup in total. I think this would also be divine served hot with a float of coconut cream over the top.
Update: As this chills, it gets pretty thick and is no longer "soup" like. So if you'd like a more loose pudding when cool, use half the amount of tapioca.

Pin It

Coconut Cream Oatmeal

Improvisation sometimes leads to inspired creations in the kitchen which is pretty exciting when it turns out for the better. This "recipe" came together this morning when I reached for some cream to top my oatmeal only to discover it had gone bad (serves me right for keeping it around for over a month!). Luckily I had just opened a pack of coconut cream I used to make ice cream just yesterday.

It's a simple idea really: use coconut cream to top oatmeal instead of dairy cream. Coconut cream is thicker than regular cream which I quite enjoyed. A little bit decadent in itself, I also added a few more toppings to my oatmeal: fresh flaxseed meal, pecan pieces, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Yum!

Oatmeal with coconut cream

You can see in the picture that the coconut cream gets a little melty and starts to blend in with the toppings. It also adds a subtle hint of coconut flavor, adding a slight twist to your standard morning bowl of oats.

Pin It

Coco Loco Brownies

I've tried a Rachael Ray recipe for brownies in the past and it was a total disaster...we're talking an inedible hot mess of chocolate and marshmallows. I found a recipe for brownies in her magazine and decided to try it, half blocking out my negative experience and half wondering what would come of it.

I followed the recipe to a tee. Did it seem right? It did not. But I stuck with it. While they are not the best brownies I've ever had, they are extremely delicious and I will recommend the recipe.



Coco Loco Brownies

1 3/4 cups sugar
1 stick butter (I used salted) at room temperature
1 cup unsweeted cocoa powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1 1/2 whole almonds, roasted and chopped (to roast, stick in the preheated oven until lightly toasted--do not let them burn)
3/4 cup chocolate chips
2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper (this will make it much easier to remove from the pan and put onto a cooling rack, preventing the brownies from steaming in the pan).
2. In a saucepan, cook the sugar and butter over medium heat until bubbling. Remove from heat, stir the cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp salt; cool for 10 minutes.
3. While cooling, mix the coconut, sweetened condensed milk, and 1/4 tsp salt. Set aside.
   
4. Whisk in the vanilla and eggs into the cooled sugar mixture until well blended. Stir in the flour, then almonds. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.
5. Spoon dollops of coconut mixture over the tops of the brownies. Gently pat down any large mounds. Bake until the coconut topping is golden brown and the brownies are set.
6. Take the brownies out of the pan and let cool on a rack.
   

Pin It

a few new things

I found this recipe a while back in Cat Cora's book, Cooking from the Hip. It's one of those "just wait til the season rolls around" recipes I was really excited about. I've never cooked with squash or lentils before, but it sounded so good I had to try it.



Curried Lentils with Butternut Squash

1 cup lentils
1 small butternut squash, cut into chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp chili powder
kosher salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and butter an 8x11" dish.
2. In a saucepan, add the lentils and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, add the squash, and reduce down to a simmer. Cook for 25-30 minutes until liquid is reduced down and squash is tender.
3. Strain liquid from vegetables. Return back to pan and mash the squash lightly.
4. Spoon into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes until hot.

I served mine over coconut basmati rice (using leftover coconut milk from the cupcakes...) which was delicious!


For dessert, I decided to run with the coconut theme and make some pudding...from another saved recipe.


Warm Banana-Coconut Pudding with Tapioca Pearls

3 cups water
1/3 cup small tapioca pearls
bananas, sliced in half moons
1 14 oz. can coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt

1. In a saucepan, bring the water to a full boil. Add the tapioca pearls stirring constantly for 1 minute to avoid clumping. Slightly reduce the temperature to a strong simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes or so. The mixute will thicken considerably.
2. Add the coconut milk, sugar, and salt and cook for a couple minutes.
3. Serve hot/warm with banana slices. Garnish with flaked coconut.
   

Pin It

Chocolate, Coconut and Rum Cupcakes with Coconut Lime Frosting

Inspired by some leftover limes from an earlier meal (that dry rubbed salmon), I really wanted to make some cupcakes. So much so that I've been dreaming and scheming about them in my head for two days now.

Lime and coconut sounded really good...but then I had an even better idea of adding chocolate to the mix! And what goes better with the semi tropical flavors of lime and coconut then rum?? Off I went to find a chocolate rum coconut lime cupcake, or something like it. Ha. Like that was really going to happen.

I decided I wanted to make chocolate coconut rum cake with coconut lime frosting. I finally settled on a "light" chocolate cup cake recipe by Martha Stewart and decided I'd modify it a bit to incorporate my coconut rum inspiration, plus add a buttercream frosting later.

Chocolate, Coconut and Rum Cupcakes with Coconut Lime Frosting

the cake:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp hot water
3 tbsp butter, melted
6 tbsp buttermilk
1 1/1 tbsp dark rum
1 large egg
1 large egg white

the frosting:
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp coconut milk, plus more as needed
1 lime, juiced

the recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and coconut.
3. Mix cocoa powder and hot water to form a paste. Add the wet ingredients and stir until smooth and well blended. Whisk in the flour mixture.
4. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
5. Cool on a wire rack.
6. To make the frosting, whisk all ingredients in a bowl until fluffy. Spread onto cooled cupcakes, and garnish with a bit of flaked coconut.

The cupcakes are quite light in my opinion, not to heavy or dense. While I would normally prefer my cupcakes a bit more dense, I think the texture compliments the delicate buttercream quite nicely. I suppose this is quite dangerous, as I feel I could eat half the batch in one sitting!

Pin It