Pearl Coffee (Bubble Tea for Adults)

Maybe it was the frogs croaking in the farm’s reclaimed wetlands outside the dining room window, and the tapioca’s resemblance to frog eggs and caviar, but Tom didn’t lick his bowl. You see, Tom defies Larry's look of judgement to lick his plate when the food is really good, and that has become my touchstone for when a dish is totally awesome. But this time, he didn't even finish his bowl becuse it urns out he doesn't care for tapioca's texture.

Dale and I had formed a "dinner club" with Larry and Tom and my old friends Joe and Tony. I have known Joe since I graduated from high school, and as a favor to my parents he landed me a job at the stock brokerage at which he worked. Back then he didn’t touch coffee or alcohol, which in my younger eyes made him sort of sad. But he’s come a long way since then--sometimes insufferably so--and I can usually depend on him to comment one way or another on food stuff, politics, or the economy.

This week we were out on the Joe and Tony's farm. The theme was "vegetarian" but I took the easy way and settled on a soup and dessert. I knew the soup had to be Daniel Boulud's Spring Pea Soup, but I wasn’t sure what to make for dessert. Earlier in the week, though, at Buddha Ruksa, which must be metropolitan Seattle’s best Thai food, we had a warm coconut milk dessert with cold small pearl tapioca and cold melon balls. Actually we didn’t order it; Kevin, our houseguest, did, but once we had a taste, we went in for the kill. The contrast of textures (oozy, gooey, and tender) and the warm vs cold was amazing—the contrast in textures and temperature actually made the parts much bigger than the sum of the whole. I remembered reading something similar to this, and went on a search through my "clippings".
I eventually found this article in the New York Times Guest Chef column from several years ago. Pichet Ong of Spice Market developed the recipe when he combined Vietnamese coffee with the Italian dessert affogato and the tapioca of “bubble” tea he told Melissa Clark in the article. It is this amazing hybrid of three cultures: Vietnamese, Italian and children. For the past few years Asian children have been crazy for a very sweet concoction of iced tea and large tapioca, um, blobs. The mixture is known as "bubble tea" and can be either addictive or cloying.
The ice cream is a simple custard but the sweetened condensed milk takes it a step out of the usual ice cream ingredients, adding a milkier flavor and what Clark calls a “candied marshmallowlike undertone”. It really was good, if I dare say so myself. I can only imagine how rich of a yellow color I would have achieved if I had used the organic eggs from the farm.
I would recommend making espresso if you have a machine or using a Vietnamese coffee maker or the Italian stovetop coffee maker, the Moka. Super strong coffee is essential, so if all you have is regular coffee pot, make it triple strength.

Vietnamese Coffee Tapioca Affogato With Condensed Milk Ice Cream (Adapted fromPichet Ong of Spice Market)
Time: 1 hour, plus 4 hours chilling and freezing
8 servings

For the ice cream:
2 cups whole milk
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream (or milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the tapioca:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup small tapioca pearls (available at most large grocery stores but are three times that price of Asian grocery stores)

For serving: 2 cups coffee (espresso, Vietnamese or Italian Moka coffee or triple-strength coffee)

1. For the ice cream, set a mesh strainer over a bowl. In a pot over medium heat, combine milk, condensed milk and cream. Bring to a simmer. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks, then drizzle a little hot milk mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low and pour yolk mixture back into pot. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Strain custard into bowl and stir in salt and vanilla extract. Let cool, then refrigerate at least 3 hours. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions, then transfer to freezer.

2. For the tapioca, combine 6 cups water, the sugar and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Add tapioca and simmer, stirring, until pearls are tender yet not mushy, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool tapioca in liquid for at least 30 minutes, and use immediately or store in refrigerator for up to one day.

3. To serve, strain tapioca pearls, discarding liquid. Divide tapioca among 8 red wine glasses. Put 2 scoops of condensed milk ice cream in each glass. Pour about 1/4 cup hot or warm coffee or espresso into each glass. Serve.