Vietnamese Banana, Coconut & Tapioca Dessert (Chè Chuối) (2024)

Chè chuối is a warm,Vietnamese pudding-like dessert featuring bananas and rich coconut cream. The classic base of coconut overlaps many tasty Vietnamese You can easily makethis at home in less than an hour!

Chè in Vietnamese, refers to sweet desserts which are liquid such asdrinks, pudding, or even types of ‘soup.’ So chèchuối you could say is a type of pudding, made of coconut cream, tapioca pearls and bananas.

Direct translations don’t always fit perfectly since ‘pudding’ brings to mind cold desserts, but this Vietnamese banana ‘pudding’ is mostly eaten slightly warm or room temp because the tapioca in it can make it feel too starchy whenserved cold.

Choosing the Right Bananas

Picking the right varietyand ripeness of bananasis the most important part of this recipe, since the flavor and texture can vary so much.

In Vietnam, cooks use a type of banana called chuối sứwhichis available in some Vietnamese markets in the US if you want to make it the traditional way. In this recipe, we use plantains because the other variety was not available. It’s still an excellent choice, just as Filipino bananas are too if you can find them.

Just like when you eat plain bananas, ripeness is everything. Too green and it’s starchy and astringent, too ripe and it’s mush. Whichever bananas you choose, perfectly ripe bananas are soft to the touch, have a skin that’s yellow with hints of orange and it will be sweet. You don’t want it to be green. When the banana has blackened or browned skin, it’s a sign that it might be bruised inside which we don’t want. Peel the skin to check, and don’t get caught!

Tapioca Pearls forThickening

Tapioca pearls are made from cassava root starch–a root you’ll often find in other Vietnamese desserts.

These little white pearls turn clear when cooked and are used to thicken the che/pudding. The pearls need to be soaked before use so they soften–just 15-20 minutes in warm water should do the trick. Soaking the pearls before cookingwill reduce the time you need to cookthem later.

All brands of tapioca pearls are essentiallythe same, but the size you pick is affects soak time and final presentation of the dessert.Go for the smallest pearls you can find. The zig zag-cut tapioca strips look pretty cool too.

Don’t Skimp On The Coconut Cream

Coconut cream adds a lot of the flavor and fat to this che/pudding recipe. Note that coconut milk and coconut cream are not the same thing. We want cream here–a good grand isSavoy coconut cream.

In a perfect world we’d allmake our own coconut cream for the freshest taste. In Vietnam and Thailand they make this cream with fresh coconuts because it’s much cheaper than buying canned varieties. Prices for fresh vs. canned are reversed in the US, and making your own cream here leaves a lot of room for error, so buying canned will save you lots of trouble.

If you have access, frozen coconut creme from Filipino (and other Asian) markets tastes even better than canned, but is triple the cost.

A Wonderful AromaticComponent: Pandan Leaves

Pandan leaves are a very common ingredientin Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian foods, especially desserts. Abovewe have some leaves tied into knots, so it stays compact and easy to manage in the pot.

You can find pandan leaves in Vietnamese, Filipino and Thai markets in both the fresh and frozen sections. Choose the darkest leavesyou can find, which signifies ageand a stronger aroma. Surprisingly,the frozen variety isbetter than fresh since they’re grownoutside the US in more ideal climates.

If you don’t live in an area where you can getfresh pandan, go for frozen. As a last resort you can use dried pandan leaves instead. Don’t resort to the artificial pandan extract, you can make this dessert without it too.

Storage and reheating

If you can’t finish a batch the same day you cook it, you can keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Of course, it will always taste better when eaten fresh!

Coconut fat solidifies at cold temperatures, so after you fridge it this che will thicken. Just mix it up to ensure even distribution of ingredients, then scoop out a bit to reheat before eating.

Make sure you only use clean, unused utensils during cooking and even scooping out leftovers. Coconut-based desserts don’t last too long in the fridge, so this practice will make sure it stays fresh as long as possible. To tell if it has gone bad, simply use your nose. If it no longer smells good, don’t risk eating it.

What is Vietnamese Chè?

Chè in Vietnamese describes sweet desserts that come in liquid forms, like drinks, pudding, or even types of ‘soup.’ In Filipino cuisine, a similar dessert is ginataan bilo bilo, which also is a sweet soup made of coconut milk and tapioca.

How do you cook tapioca pearls?

Tapioca pearls are made by soaking pearls in water before cooking, and then boiling them in hot water or in a sweet simple syrup mixture. You can learn more about how to do this in my recipe below.