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.
1/2cupjulienned young coconut meat, fresh or canned(10 g)
2 to 3sweet ripe mangoescut in 1⁄2-inch (1.2 cm) cubes
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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.
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."