Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding in individual glass cups on a white serving dish.

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding – If you love the classic Thai dessert mango and sticky rice, this pudding recipe is for you! A light and silk coconut cream bursts with tiny tapioca pearls and sweet, fresh mango, and is from Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week by Pailin Chongchitnant. You’ll love how simple it is to whip together when you’re craving those mango and coconut flavors!

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding in individual glass cups on a white serving dish.
Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding – If you love the classic Thai dessert mango and sticky rice, this Thai coconut sago pudding is for you! Coconut tapioca pudding is made with a light, silky coconut cream bursting with tiny tapioca pearls and topped with sweet, fresh mango. This mango sago pudding is from Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week by Pailin Chongchitnant.

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding in individual glass cups on a white serving dish.

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding (Pudding Sakoo Mamuang Sohd – พุดด้ิงสาคูมะม่วงสด)

I often delight in the similarities between Thai and Filipino cuisine. There are many common threads in Southeast Asian cooking (and eating), which may explain why I often crave and love to cook Thai dishes almost as often as I do my family’s favorite Filipino recipes. Take the ingredients, for example. We share a love for rice, coconut milk, fish sauce, soy sauce, shrimp paste, and noodles, to name a few. Don’t even get me started on mangoes and banana leaves! And we eat with a fork and a spoon – an efficient method for ensuring that each flavorful grain of rice and sauce never goes to waste!

I was happy to welcome Pailin Chongchitnant to the podcast to discuss these similarities, the secret to her success of Pailin’s Kitchen on YouTube, and her newly released cookbook.

Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week (affiliate link) is Pai’s answer to easy, approachable Thai recipes that anyone can cook on a weeknight. I found myself bookmarking many recipes, from savory classics like Massaman Curry to her version of a mango sago pudding, which I am so excited to share with you today.

Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week cookbook on a white table.

How to Make Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding

Mango sticky rice is a classic staple in Thai cooking, but it requires time and planning. Sometimes you need something sweet and refreshing — and quick! So, this recipe for Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding is the answer. 

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding on a white serving tray.

Pailin was inspired by the tapioca-mango dessert cups often sold at Chinese supermarkets. Tiny tapioca pearls are folded into a silky coconut cream and topped with fresh, juicy mango, providing that same fantastic coconut-mango flavor with an entirely different texture and experience.

One important note is that tapioca pearls lose their soft chewy texture in the fridge, so you’ll want to make this recipe right before you plan to eat it.

Tiny tapioca and ingredients for Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding.

How to Make Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding

  1. Make the coconut cream

    Pour the coconut milk into a small pot, add one knotted pandan leaf, and bring the coconut milk to a boil. Once they are boiling, stir in the sugar and salt until fully dissolved.
     
    While the milk is boiling, dissolve rice flour in water. Pour the dissolved rice flour mixture into the coconut milk mixture to thicken. Stir continuously with a rubber spatula until the mixture returns to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat, remove the pandan leaf, and allow to cool.
     
    You can make the coconut cream up to three days ahead of time if you wish.Making the coconut cream in a small pan for mango coconut tapioca pudding.

  2. Cook the tapioca pearls

    Start by bringing a pot of water to a full boil and add the tapioca pearls. Please note, the water must come to a full boil before you add the tapioca pearls. If you add them before the water is boiling, they’ll dissolve, stick together, and turn into a mushy mess instead of gelling up.
     
    Stir the pearls until the water returns to a boil. Once boiling, stop stirring and let the pearls cook for about 12–13 minutes.
     
    While the pearls are boiling, get a bowl of cold water ready. When you think the pearls might be done cooking, remove several from the pot and add to the bowl of cold water. You’ll know the pearls are done cooking when any white centers remaining in the pearls look no larger than a tiny dot.
     
    When ready, drain the pearls in a fine strainer or sieve and run cold water over them until completely cool. Shake off any excess water. Transfer them to a mixing bowl. Leave covered for up to four hours until you are ready to serve. Do not refrigerate.Cooked tapioca in a glass bowl for mango coconut tapioca pudding.

  3. Assemble and serve the pudding

    Once the coconut cream has cooled to be warm, room temperature, or cold if it was refrigerated, mix together the cream, the tapioca pearls, and the young coconut meat. Taste the pudding with a piece of mango and add any salt or sugar as needed.
     
    Spoon the pudding into a serving bowl and top with a generous serving of mango pieces. 
     
    The tapioca pearls will continue to absorb moisture from the cream the longer it sits, so be sure to serve within 30 minutes of mixing the pudding together. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge but know that the texture won’t be the same the next day!Mixing coconut cream and tapioca in a glass bowl for mango coconut tapioca pudding.

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding cups served in glass cups.

Listen to the Podcast with Pai

For more simple Thai recipes and to learn more about Sabai, check out my interview with Pailin in Episode 67 of the Kitchen Confidante Podcast!

More Thai-inspired Recipes

Sweet Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango
Thai-Curry Marinated Grilled Shrimp
Thai-style Shrimp Bowls

More Coconut Dessert Recipes

Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote
Ginataang Bilo-Bilo: Filipino Coconut Tapioca Pudding
10 Easy Filipino Desserts with Coconut Milk

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding in a glass.

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of Sabai: 100 Simple Thai Recipes for Any Day of the Week to review for the Kitchen Confidante Podcast Episode 67 with Pailin Chongchitnant. All opinions are, of course, my own. The post may have affiliate links; see my Disclosure page to learn more.

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding (Pudding Sakoo Mamuang Sohd – พุดด้ิงสาคูมะม่วงสด)

Mango Coconut Tapioca Pudding – If you love the classic Thai dessert mango and sticky rice, this Thai coconut sago pudding is for you! Coconut tapioca pudding is made with a light, silky coconut cream bursting with tiny tapioca pearls and topped with sweet, fresh mango. 
Course Dessert
Cuisine Thai
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 232kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 cup coconut milk (250 ml)
  • 1 pandan leaf tied into a knot (optional; see note below )
  • 5 to 7 tablespoons finely chopped palm or granulated sugar (62 to 75 g; see note below)
  • 1/4 teaspoon table salt (1 ml)
  • 2 tablespoons rice flour (15g)
  • 2 tablespoons water (30 ml)
  • 1/2 cup small tapioca pearls (85 g; see note)
  • 1/2 cup julienned young coconut meat, fresh or canned (10 g)
  • 2 to 3 sweet ripe mangoes cut in 1⁄2-inch (1.2 cm) cubes

Instructions

Make the coconut cream

  • Make the coconut cream by placing the coconut milk and pandan leaf in a small pot and bringing the milk to a boil over medium heat. Add the sugar and salt; stir until dissolved.
  • Dissolve the rice flour in the water, then pour it into the coconut milk while you stir with a rubber spatula. Keep stirring constantly until the coconut milk returns to a boil and the mixture has thickened. Remove the coconut cream from the heat, discard the pandan leaf, and let cool.

Make the tapioca pearls

  • Bring at least 6 cups (1.5 L) water to a full boil over high heat to cook the tapioca pearls.
    Sprinkle the tapioca pearls into the boiling water and stir until the water returns to a boil. Then stop stirring and let them boil for 12 to 13 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a small bowl of cold water to check doneness.
  • Check the doneness of the pearls by putting a small amount into the cold water. The pearls are done when any white centers remaining in the pearls look no larger than a tiny dot.
  • Drain the pearls through a metal fine-mesh sieve and run cold water through them until completely cool. Shake off excess water and transfer to a mixing bowl. If you’re not ready to serve, you can leave them at room temperature, covered, for up to 4 hours. For the best texture, it’s better to not refrigerate them.

Assemble the pudding

  • To assemble, stir the coconut cream (it can be warm, room temperature, or cold) and the young coconut meat into the pearls, mixing well. You can taste the pudding with a piece of mango and add more sugar and/or salt as needed, depending on the sweetness and tartness of the mangoes.
  • Spoon into a small serving bowl and top with a generous helping of mango pieces. Serve within 30 minutes of mixing. The tapioca pearls will continue to absorb moisture from the cream as they sit, so the longer they sit, the less soft and creamy the texture will be. If you have any leftovers, you can store them in the fridge, but the texture will not be as good the next day.

Notes

Excerpted from Sabai by Pailin Chongchitnant. Copyright © 2023 Pailin Chongchitnant. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
Notes from Liren:
Tapioca pearls lose their soft, chewy texture in the fridge, so you’ll want to make this recipe right before eating it. However, you can still make the components in advance!
  • You can make the coconut cream up to three days ahead of time. Store it in the refrigerator before assembling it.
  • You can make the tapioca up to four hours before; store it at room temperature and do not refrigerate it.
  • Chop up the mango and coconut meat three days before, and store it in the refrigerator.
 
Notes from author Pailin Chongchitnant:
“If not using pandan leaf, use palm sugar instead of granulated sugar for added flavor.”
“If the mango is very sweet, use less sugar, and vice versa. Also, if you’re serving right after assembly, use less sugar, as the sugar will not have had time to absorb into the pearls and the dish will taste sweeter than if it had.”
“Make sure you use the tiny tapioca pearls that are no larger than 1/16 inch (2 mm) in diameter; they’re available in white or a mix of pink, green, and white.”
“So I need to stress the number one rule when working with tapioca pearls: do not add them to anything other than fully boiling liquid. This makes sense once you understand what tapioca pearls actually are: simply tapioca starch that has been clumped together into tiny balls, similar to the way old cornstarch can get clumpy in the bag. So, if you put them in not-hot-enough water, they will just dissolve. But when they go into boiling water, the outside instantly gels up, creating a shell that holds the inside together while it cooks through.”

Nutrition

Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 104mg | Potassium: 226mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 747IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 2mg
Did you make this recipe?I’d love to see! Tag @kitchconfidante on Instagram and hashtag it #kitchenconfidante

Comments

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Kitchen Confidante®
147