Recipe courtesy of
Susan Vu
for
Food Network Kitchen
Recipe courtesy of
Susan Vu
for
Food Network Kitchen
Watch how to make this recipe.
Chè Thái
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- Level: Easy
- Total: 40 min
- Active: 30 min
- Yield: 6 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 6 servings
- Calories
- 916
- Total Fat
- 15 g
- Saturated Fat
- 12 g
- Carbohydrates
- 201 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 5 g
- Sugar
- 123 g
- Protein
- 5 g
- Cholesterol
- 0 mg
- Sodium
- 97 mg
This colorful Vietnamese dessert is a celebration of tastes and textures. It’s similar to the Thai dessert tub tim krob, a dish made of sweetened coconut milk or cream with “red rubies” of diced water chestnuts dyed red and boiled in a coating of tapioca starch to create a chewy, crunchy ruby-red morsels. For chè thái, a mix of tropical canned fruit is added to a creamy base along with colorful jelly cubes and the rubies. It’s a refreshing treat that’s typically assembled in a tall glass so that each vibrantly hued ingredient can be seen. The base can be made with a variety of ingredients, including half-and-half or even flavored coffee creamer (see Cook’s Note). This recipe opts for rich coconut milk and takes its sweetness from the syrups of the canned tropical fruits used. Serve any extra fruit syrup on the side with the chè so that people can add more if desired; any leftover syrup also makes a great sweetener for iced tea.
- Level: Easy
- Total: 40 min
- Active: 30 min
- Yield: 6 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 6 servings
- Calories
- 916
- Total Fat
- 15 g
- Saturated Fat
- 12 g
- Carbohydrates
- 201 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 5 g
- Sugar
- 123 g
- Protein
- 5 g
- Cholesterol
- 0 mg
- Sodium
- 97 mg
Ingredients
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Directions
- In a medium bowl or extra-large liquid measuring cup, combine the lychee syrup, jackfruit syrup and longan syrup. Set the fruit syrups aside.
- Quarter the lychees and slice the jackfruit into 1/4-inch strips, then add both fruits to a large bowl or container with a tight-fitting lid. Add the longan, toddy palm seeds or palm seeds (cut the toddy palm seed slices in half lengthwise if desired), nata de coco, if using, coconut milk, 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut water and 1 1/4 cups of the reserved fruit syrup. Stir to combine and adjust the sweetness with additional fruit syrup as desired. If you prefer a thinner chè, stir in the remaining unsweetened coconut water.
- Cut the aiyu jelly into 1/2-inch cubes and place into a small bowl. Chill the fruit and coconut milk mixture in the refrigerator along with the aiyu jelly and any remaining fruit syrup.
- Meanwhile, make the red rubies. Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Dice the water chestnuts into 1/4-inch pieces and place in a medium bowl. Add the red food coloring and stir until the chestnuts are evenly coated in the food coloring. Add the tapioca starch and stir until the chestnuts are evenly coated. Transfer the chestnuts to a fine-mesh strainer and shake out any excess starch. Fill a second medium bowl with ice water and set aside.
- Add the coated chestnuts to the boiling water and give them a good stir to prevent the chestnuts from sticking together. Cook until the chestnuts float to the top of the water, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, then cook for an additional 10 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the red rubies and add them to the bowl of ice water. Let the red rubies sit for at least 10 minutes in the ice water so that they are completely chilled. Strain well, place in a small bowl and immediately stir in 2 tablespoons of the reserved fruit syrup to keep the pearls from sticking together and sweeten them.
- To serve, divide the red rubies between 6 tall serving glasses (about 3 tablespoons in each) then top evenly with the diced aiyu jelly (a heaping 1/3 cup per glass). Evenly spoon the coconut and fruit mixture over the jelly (about 1 1/4 cups in each) then fill the glasses with crushed ice. Serve immediately with long spoons and any remaining fruit syrup on the side so that people can sweeten their chè more if desired. Alternatively, you can combine the red rubies, aiyu jelly and fruit and coconut mixture and refrigerate for up to 48 hours before serving. The color of the chè will turn light green due to the aiyu jelly but it will still be delicious.
Cook’s Note
It is also very popular to add flavored coffee creamer to chè thái, which is easy to do with a few modifications. Simply change up the coconut milk mixture by using 1 cup of vanilla or hazelnut coffee creamer (dairy-free versions work too), 1 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut water and 1/2 cup of the reserved fruit syrup. Thin the mixture with additional coconut water and/or sweeten with more fruit syrup if desired. For easy crushed ice, place ice cubes in a food processor and pulse until the ice is finely crushed.
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