Sakoo Taeng Thai (Tapioca Pearls with Cantaloupe)
Chilled tapioca pearls and sweet melon in salty coconut milk over crushed ice: the cooling street dessert of a Bangkok afternoon.
Ingredients
- 100 g small tapioca pearls
- 1 l water, for boiling
- 120 g Sugar
- 120 ml water, for the syrup
- 400 ml Coconut milk
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 pandan leaf, knotted (optional)
- ½ Cantaloupe melon, scooped into balls or cut into cubes
- 480 ml crushed ice
Method
- Boil the water, add the tapioca pearls and stir. Cook for 10–12 min, stirring often, until the pearls are almost clear with a tiny white dot. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again.
- Dissolve the sugar in the syrup water over medium heat, then let it cool.
- Warm the coconut milk with the salt and pandan until just steaming, stirring; don’t boil. Cool, then chill.
- Stir the tapioca into the syrup and add the melon.
- Spoon into glasses, pour over the salty coconut milk and top with crushed ice.
Tips
- Thai stalls perfume the coconut milk with a dessert candle (tian op); a pandan leaf is the easy home swap.
- Use any ripe melon, or jackfruit.
Sources
Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:
Open Sakoo Taeng Thai (Tapioca Pearls with Cantaloupe) in Nouns Cooking