Coconut Tapioca Pudding with Mango

As soon as I saw QS's review, I knew I just had to try it. Unfortunately, I messed it up a little - I soaked the tapioca way longer than 30 minutes by accident - more like two hours or so (don't ask). The resulting pudding was quite solid/not liquid enough, the tapioca pearls weren't as defined as I would have liked them, and I think that soaking them for too long may be the culprit. Otherwise this is a really great dessert!

One thing I also learned was that fair trade coconut milk is worlds away from normal/cheap coconut milk, way better and more coconutty in flavour!

An excellent coconut tapioca, very rich and simple, and the perfect sweet/salty balance

I first tried coconut tapioca pudding about 25 yrs ago in Hawaii, and have tried for years to recreate it. This recipe comes very close.

I have made it less rich (more to my taste) in the following ways. I double the recipe (2/3 C pearl tapioca), use one can of coconut milk, and then use regular milk (skim or 1%) to 5 cups. If you taste it after sugar addition, and before the salt, you will think its too sweet. Don't worry. The salt tempers the sweet and it perfect.

Note - this works not only in a sauce pan, but also in my electric frying pan (during remodel). I don't bother with the mango. Also note that the pearl tapioca can be soaked longer than 20 minutes.