Chè Thái (Vietnamese Fruit Dessert)

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The red rubies — tapioca-coated water chestnut pieces dyed red that are chewy on the outside and crunchy in the center.
• Multiple textures in every spoonful — soft jelly, chewy rubies, tender fruit, crunchy water chestnut.
• Coconut milk broth sweetened with fruit syrup — simple and perfect, the reserved syrup from the canned fruits does most of the sweetening work.
• Endlessly customizable — swap in whatever jellies or canned fruits you love.

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Chè Thái: The Vietnamese Dessert That Has Everything.

Chè thái is a Vietnamese dessert shop staple, found everywhere from Saigon street stalls to Vietnamese communities around the world. The combination sounds unusual if you’ve never had it, jellies, canned tropical fruits, coconut milk, ice, but the result is one of the most refreshing and satisfying desserts I know.

FRUIT AND JELLIES

• 1 can green aiyu jelly, cut into small cubes
• 1 package coconut jelly, drained
• 1 can jackfruit, drained and cut into thin slices
• 1 can longan, drained — syrup reserved
• 1 can lychee, drained — syrup reserved
• 1 can palm seeds, sliced

RED RUBIES

• 1 can water chestnuts, drained and diced into small pieces
• Red food coloring
• Tapioca starch, for coating

COCONUT BROTH

• 1 can coconut milk
• Reserved fruit syrup from longan and lychee, to taste.

TO SERVE

• Crushed ice or ice cubes

The Red Rubies

The red rubies are my favorite part of chè thái. They’re made from water chestnuts, diced small, tossed in red food coloring, then coated in tapioca starch and briefly boiled until the tapioca coating becomes translucent and chewy. The result is these beautiful jewel-like pieces that are chewy on the outside from the tapioca coating and still slightly crunchy in the center from the water chestnut. The texture contrast is what makes them so addictive.

The Coconut Broth

The base of chè thái is super simple, coconut milk sweetened with the reserved syrup from your canned fruits. The longan and lychee syrups are already perfectly sweet and they balance the richness of the coconut milk naturally. Add the syrup a little at a time and taste as you go! Some people add a little sugar or condensed milk if they want it sweeter.

MAKE THE RED RUBIES

• Color the water chestnuts: Drain and dice the water chestnuts into small even pieces. Place in a bowl and add red food coloring and toss to coat. Add more until the pieces are evenly red.
• Coat in tapioca starch: Add tapioca starch to the bowl and toss until every piece is generously and evenly coated in a white layer of starch and there are no wet spots left.
• Boil: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the coated water chestnut pieces and boil until the tapioca coating turns translucent and the rubies float to the top, about 2-3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately transfer to a bowl of cold ice water to stop the cooking and keep them from sticking together. Drain and set aside.

PREPARE THE FRUIT AND JELLIES

• Cut the jelly: Cut the aiyu jelly into small even cubes. Drain the coconut jelly and cut into similar sized pieces if needed.
• Prep the fruit: Drain the jackfruit and cut into thin slices. Drain the palm seeds. Drain the longan and lychee, reserving the syrup from both cans.
• Add to bowl: Add all your jelly, fruit, red rubies into a big bowl.

ASSEMBLE

• Mix: To bowl of jelly and fruit, add coconut milk along with some of the reserved longan and lychee syrup. Mix together well. Start with a small amount of syrup and add more to taste.
• Serve immediately: Refrigerate or eat right away with extra ice. Mix everything together as you eat so every spoonful gets a little of everything.

Red Rubies

• 1 can water chestnuts drained and diced small
• red food coloring
• tapioca starch for coating

Fruit and Jellies

• 1 can green aiyu jelly
• 1 package coconut jelly drained
• 1 can jackfruitt drained and cut into thin slices
• 1 can longan drained, syrup reserved
• 1 can lychee drained, syrup reserved
• 1 can palm seeds thinly sliced

Coconut Broth

• 1 can coconut milk
• reserved longan and lychee syrup to taste

To Serve

• ice

MAKE THE RED RUBIES

PREPARE THE FRUIT AND JELLIES

• Prep the fruit: Drain the jackfruit and cut into thin slices. Drain the longan and lychee, reserving the syrup from both cans.
• Add to bowl: Add all your jelly, fruit, and red rubies into a big bowl.

ASSEMBLE

• Serve: Refrigerate or eat right away with extra ice. Mix everything together as you eat so every spoonful gets a little of everything.