Tapioca Coconut Dessert (Naam Vaab)
Tapioca Coconut dessert is a traditional Vietnamese dessert known as Nước Nam Vam. Hmong people have adopted this popular dessert into their own culture, naming the Hmong style dessert Naam Vaab. It is often served at celebrations or large gatherings and is especially loved during the summer months. The dessert is adaptable, so it can be made with many different toppings to fit anyone’s palette.
Ingredients
- 2 8 ounce cans of jackfruit *
- 2 8 ounce cans of lychee *
- 1 cup of cantaloupe, cut into ¼ inch cubes
- 8 ounces jarred coconut meat *
- 1 8 ounce can of grass jelly *
- 14 ounces tapioca pearls *
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 6 ⅓ cup of coconut milk
*Items can be found at international grocery stores.
Directions
Prepare the fruit and canned toppings. Cut the jackfruit into thin strips, halve the lychees, and cut the cantaloupe into bite-sized pieces. Use the jar of coconut meat as is. Cut the grass jelly into ½-inch cubes, then set all prepared ingredients aside.
Afterwards, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the tapioca pearls according to the package directions.
Drain the pearls in cold water for about 30 seconds or until it's cooled down*.
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat to create a simple syrup mixture. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves, and the syrup turns a light golden color. Remove simple syrup from the heat.
To assemble, combine the prepared fruit, grass jelly, tapioca pearls, and coconut milk in a large serving bowl. Stir gently, then add the simple syrup until the desired sweetness is reached.
*An optional step to the recipe would be to divide the tapioca pearls after draining into three different bowls and add various food coloring to each, making an even more colorful dish. This is more traditional to the tapioca coconut dessert.
