← Nouns Cooking · Vietnamese

Ingredients

• 2 corn on the cob (or 300 g kernels), kernels cut off, cobs kept
• 1 l Water
• 2 pandan leaves, knotted (or 1 tsp vanilla extract) (optional)
• 40 g small tapioca pearls (sago)
• 60 g Sugar
• ½ tsp Salt
• 200 ml coconut milk or cream
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• ¼ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp tapioca starch or cornflour, mixed with 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. Simmer the stripped cobs and pandan in the water for 15 min to make a sweet corn stock. Lift out the cobs and leaves.
2. Rinse the tapioca pearls, then stir them into the simmering stock with the corn kernels. Cook for 10–12 min, stirring often so the pearls don’t stick, until they are translucent with no white dots and the liquid has thickened.
3. Stir in the sugar and salt and taste; it should be sweet with a hint of salt. Add a splash of water if it’s too thick, as it thickens more as it cools.
4. For the sauce, warm the coconut milk, sugar and salt in a small pan, stir in the starch slurry and simmer for about 1 minute until it thickens to a pouring cream.
5. Spoon the chè into bowls, warm or at room temperature, drizzle with coconut sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Tips

• Many cooks also add a handful of glutinous rice, simmered in the stock first, for a thicker, chewier pudding.
• Contains sesame. Leftovers set firm in the fridge; loosen with a little hot water.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Vicky Pham Hungry Huy