Che Chuoi—Banana, Coconut and Tapioca Pudding

A month or two ago, I took M* to Cho Mee, a Chinese grocery store that also carries various Pan-Asian items, and he picked-up some large Tapioca Pearls with the idea that he would make them. I suspected that this might not be the case. With our time in Cambridge winding-down, I decided to make them before we ended-up leaving them for the next tenant.

The instructions on the back were not in the best English, and I didn't feel confident in following them. Instead, I went to Google to point me in the right direction. I didn't find many recipes calling for the large tapioca pearls, so I tried to follow the instructions on the package just to cook the pearls. While I was doing this, I came across a recipe for a Vietnamese dessert, Che Chuoi—Banana, Coconut and Tapioca pudding, which required small tapioca pearls but sounded delicious.

I ran into a little bit of trouble when, after almost an hour, the pearls had not turned completely translucent but a number of them had gel-ified (?) on the bottom of the pan. I just plunged ahead though and started following the recipe with step 2. Within minutes the desert was done, and I was able to put the pan in the sink, where it took a few days of soaking/ scrubbing to remove all the pearls from the bottom.

My husband loved the dessert, and I loved the taste but would have enjoyed it more with the small pearls. Coconut milk and bananas are already staples for us, and I can see small tapioca pearls making future appearances in my shopping basket.

Che Chuoi—Banana, Coconut and Tapioca Pudding
Makes 6 servings.
(I recommend following the link above. The web site has useful notes about types of bananas and coconut milk and a description of the dessert)

3 cups water
3 tablespoons small tapioca pearls (about 1/8"in diameter)
3 ½ tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ cup coconut milk
3 bananas (about 1 pound total) peeled and cut on the bias into ½-inch thick slices

1. Cook the tapioca. In a 2 quart saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Use a whisk to swirl in the tapioca pearls. This prevents them from sticking together! Let the tapioca cook in the boiling water for about 12 minutes, at which point they'll have lost about one half of their opaque-ness and the mixture will have thickened. The pearls sort of resemble fish eyes!

2. Add remaining ingredients. While the tapioca cooks, whisk the sugar, salt and coconut milk together. When the tapioca has finished its initial cooking (step 1), whisk in the sugar, salt and coconut milk. Stirring occasionally, let the mixture cook for a minute to dissolve the sugar. Add in the banana slices and continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes to allow the bananas to heat through and the flavors to meld. Set the pudding aside to cool. Serve at slightly warmed or at room temperature in individual bowls.