Vietnamese Banana Tapioca Pudding (Chè Chuối)

Chè Chuối (pronounced “chair chewy”) is a delightfully sweet dessert made of tapioca pearls, rich coconut cream, and bananas. Ready in under an hour, this easy-to-make dessert is traditionally served warm, but is delicious chilled as well.

Jump to:

• What's the Story Behind this Recipe?
• Ingredients
• How to Make Banana Tapioca Pudding
• Vietnamese Banana Tapioca Pudding (Chè Chuối)

What's the Story Behind this Recipe?

Mr. B and I always pay careful attention to the dishes we enjoy whenever we travel. After our trip to Hawaii, we had a long list of recipes we wanted to recreate when we returned home. Vietnamese Banana Tapioca Pudding, topped with velvety coconut cream, was second on our list. (First on the list? These amazing Kahuku Shrimp!)

After a little research (and some trial and error), we've come up with a good reproduction of the original, albeit with some minor alterations. The most glaring of these changes is that we chose to omit a thin layer of sweet rice between the tapioca and the coconut cream. Leaving this layer out goes a long way to simplifying the process; however, it does add a pleasing textural element, so if you want to include the extra step, it might be worth the effort to you. 

Ingredients

• Bananas: The version we enjoyed in Honolulu included Hawaiian Apple Bananas, which are difficult to find outside Hawaii. This recipe calls for regular bananas, but if you have access to Apple Bananas, by all means use them instead. (Baby bananas can also be used.)
• Tapioca pearls: Tapioca pearls are available in a wide variety of sizes, ranging from 1 mm to 8mm. You want to use small tapioca pearls for this recipe.
• Coconut milk: Use full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk for this recipe. (Do not lite coconut milk, because it does not contain enough coconut cream. Likewise, do not use coconut cream, as it is only cream, with no liquid.)
• Granulated sugar
• Vanilla
• Kosher salt
• Finely chopped peanuts or cashews
• Grated coconut
• Mint leaves

How to Make Banana Tapioca Pudding

The first thing you need to do is divide the coconut milk, which sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. You will need 3 small bowls for this step.

Open the can of coconut milk. DO NOT shake the can before opening.

1. Pour the thin coconut liquid into one small bowl. You can also just leave the liquid in the can, but removing at least some of it first makes it much easier to scrape out the coconut cream.
2. Scrape the coconut cream into a second small bowl.
3. Measure out ½ cup of the coconut liquid from the first bowl into a third bowl. To this bowl, add 2 tablespoons of the coconut cream and mix with a small whisk or fork to combine.
4. To the bowl containing the remaining coconut cream, add the remaining coconut liquid from the first bowl and whisk to combine.

At this point, the first bowl should be empty, and you will have one bowl that is primarily coconut cream, and one that is thinner coconut liquid. Set everything aside.

Cut bananas into ¾-1 inch pieces. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil over medium heat. Add the tapioca and reduce heat. Simmer for 12 to 14 minutes, until the tapioca nearly cooked, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

Do not overcook: at this point, the tapioca should be thick, and individual pearls should be clear on the outside, and have a very small dot of white in the middle.

Add the salt and the thinner coconut liquid mixture the tapioca, and stir to combine. Increase heat to medium until tapioca mixture begins to simmer, then stir in the banana pieces. Reduce heat and simmer for until the bananas are tender, about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Add sugar one or two teaspoons at a time, tasting between additions, until it is sweetened to your tastes.

To toast coconut, place ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut in a small ungreased non-stick pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the coconut is lightly browned.

Immediately remove from pan and cool on paper towels.

Distribute individual servings of banana-tapioca mixture into small bowls. Pour a thin layer of the prepared coconut cream over the top of each serving.

Garnish with finely chopped nuts, toasted coconut, and mint leaves. Serve warm.

If you want your garnishes to sit up on top of the coconut cream (instead of sinking into it), allow everything to cool a bit before you finish placing the toasted coconut, etc.

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