This Vietnamese Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Grilled Bananas is one of my favorite memories from Hanoi. We sat in an atmospheric corner cafe that specialized in traditional local desserts. We enjoyed this warm pudding with iced coffees from the 4th floor balcony overlooking a colorful Buddhist temple across the leafy street. It was so delicious that we returned to that cafe a few days later to enjoy the pudding and coffees all over again.
Last summer at the OC Little Saigon Night Market, I found a food booth that made a similar pudding, but with grilled taro coated in green sticky rice instead of banana. Warm and not too sweet. I was reminded of the pudding from Hanoi and was inspired to try to make it myself. As I did research, I was delighted to learn that the dish is naturally vegan. The combo of tapioca and coconut milk thicken the pudding without milk or eggs. As I try to reduce dairy for myself, one of the things I have missed was homemade pudding, especially since my mom’s recipe for homemade warm chocolate pudding is pretty outstanding. Now I know I can make vegan pudding that’s light and pretty healthy for a dessert. It’s also incredibly delicious.
What makes this dish special is grilling the bananas. I sear them in a cast iron skillet on the stove, rotating them until they turn dark on all sides. Heating semi-caramelizes the bananas which amplifies the flavor. Try your best to find little shorty bananas which are tropical, non-industrialized, and full of flavor. Here in California, I find them in Asian (usually Vietnamese) or Mexican grocery stories.
Honestly, I didn’t really like bananas until I visited Thailand in my early 20s and tried real tropical bananas. They taste the way bananas are supposed to taste, not like pasty cardboard American-style bananas. Now I pretty much only eat shorty bananas because they actually have flavor. (I only buy standard American-style bananas in a pinch for baking). Sometimes in Vietnamese supermarkets, women come up to me to let me know they approve of my shorty banana choice. If you can’t find shorty bananas, you can make due with standard American-style bananas. The searing will help them have more flavor.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (50g) small tapioca pears
- 14 ounce can of unsweetened coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
- 4 shorty bananas or 3 large bananas
Garnishes
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons roasted unsalted peanuts or cashews, roughly chopped
- 2/3 tablespoons dried coconut
Instructions
- Pour 1 1/2 cups water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Sprinkle in the tapioca pearls and stir. Partially cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring every couple of minutes so the tapioca doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook about 15 minutes, until the majority of the pearls are soft and appear translucent.
- Pour the coconut milk, sugar, and salt into the saucepan. Increase the heat slightly to simmer, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes, until the sugar is dissolved.
- Meanwhile, peal the bananas and sear them in a pan, preferably cast iron. Gently rotate the bananas so they grill on all sides.
- Toast the sesame seeds, peanuts, and coconut flakes in a small dry skillet or saucepan.
- To serve, you can slice the bananas or keep them whole, and arrange in small bowls. Pour the pudding over the bananas. Garnish with sesame seeds, peanuts, and coconut flakes.
