Chinese Tapioca and Coconut Milk Dessert with Mango Recipe
This tapioca and coconut milk dessert is popular in many Chinese bakeries and restaurants, especially on hot days. It has the consistency of a light pudding with small, springy tapioca pearls and sweet mango. It’s a bit like rice pudding, but in a tropical, coconut version.
The dessert made with tapioca, coconut milk and mango is often served in Hong Kong dessert shops alongside tofu puddings or grass jelly. It’s a popular chilled way to end a hot dim sum meal or a Cantonese-style dinner.
A light, refreshing dessert that combines the creamy richness of coconut milk with the delicate texture of tapioca pearls and the sweetness of ripe mango. It’s simple to make, naturally gluten-free and perfect for hot days.
Why this version works
- Soaking the pearls before cooking shortens the cooking time and reduces the risk of hard centers.
- Cooking over low heat with frequent stirring prevents the coconut milk from burning.
- Adding the mango to the slightly cooled mixture preserves its fresh flavor and vibrant color.
Chef's tips
Stir the tapioca frequently while cooking to prevent it from sticking and forming lumps. Don’t worry if a few pearls still have a tiny white center when you turn off the heat—they will finish cooking and become more translucent as the dessert cools and rests.
How to serve
Serve in small dessert bowls or glasses, topped with fresh mango and mint leaves. For extra contrast, you can add a few cubes of very cold mango or a spoonful of mango purée on top just before serving.
Watch out for
- Do not let the coconut milk with tapioca come to a rolling boil – it burns easily and turns lumpy.
- If after the cooking time some of the pearls still have a white dot in the center, keep cooking for another 1–2 minutes, stirring.
- Don’t put the hot mixture straight into the fridge – cooling it too quickly will give the cream a grainy, curdled texture.
Substitutions
- Instead of fresh mango you can use frozen mango, well defrosted and drained.
- You can replace part of the coconut milk with cow’s milk or oat milk if you want a lighter version.
- You can swap powdered vanilla for vanilla extract added at the end of cooking.
Ingredients
- small tapioca pearls available in Asian stores; can be substituted with sago - 80 g
- coconut milk - 400 ml
- water - 300 ml
- sugar or to taste - 3 tablespoon
- ripe mango medium, sweet - 1 piece
- pinch of salt - 1 pinch
- vanilla extract or vanilla sugar; optional - 0.5 teaspoon
- mint leaves for decoration; optional - 4 piece
Preparation
- Put the tapioca into a bowl and cover with cold water just so it’s submerged. Set aside for 15 minutes, until the pearls noticeably swell and become translucent around the edges with a white center, then drain in a sieve.
- In a pot, bring 300 ml of water to a boil. Add the soaked tapioca, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring very often along the bottom, until most of the pearls are almost translucent with a small white dot in the center and the mixture is still slightly pourable.
- Add the coconut milk, sugar, salt and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Cook over low heat for another 8–10 minutes, stirring every 20–30 seconds, until the tapioca becomes almost completely translucent and the mixture thickens to the consistency of a thin custard that slowly runs off the spoon.
- Remove the pot from the heat and set aside for 10–15 minutes, stirring every few minutes so a thick skin doesn’t form. The mixture will noticeably thicken – after stirring it should resemble a thick but still pourable sauce, not a firm jelly.
- Meanwhile, peel the mango, cut the flesh away from the pit and dice it into small 5–7 mm cubes. Reserve a few tablespoons for decoration, and lightly mash the rest with a fork or briefly pulse in a blender to make a thick purée with soft pieces, without tough fibers.
- Add most of the mango to the slightly cooled, still warm tapioca and gently fold it in. Check the bottom of the pot – if you see compact clumps of tapioca, mash them with a spoon until the mixture is smoothly creamy again.
- Spoon the dessert into bowls or glasses, filling them to 3/4 of their height. Leave to cool completely at room temperature until the surface stops steaming, then chill in the fridge for at least 1–2 hours, until the mixture wobbles slightly when you move the dish.
- Before serving, gently stir the top of each portion if the tapioca has separated. Decorate with the reserved mango and mint leaves, and serve well chilled – the pearls should be soft yet bouncy, and the coconut cream smooth and silky.
Storage
No storage information available for this dish.
This dessert reminds me of Asian dessert shops where chilled tapioca puddings in many flavors are displayed in glass cases. The combination of coconut and mango is one of the most classic and crowd-pleasing versions.
