How To Make Coconut Dessert Soup

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There’s a great dessert shop in Chinatown that’s a regular stop on our family walks around the neighborhood. One of my kiddo’s favorite treats is this sweet coconut dessert soup, which he’s compelled me to add to our afternoon snack repertoire at home.

This delicious coconut soup is a contemporary riff on traditional Chinese dessert soups (known collectively as tong sui in Cantonese) typically made from ground red beans, sesame seeds or walnuts. This version is super-tasty, easy to make and can be something of a blank canvas for mix-ins as varied as fresh mango, cooked taro or peanuts.

Sweet coconut soup is also a great example of a perfect pantry dessert. Stash away bags of tapioca pearls and Chinese rock sugar on your next visit to a Chinese market and you’ll have supplies for months of desserts. Just add milk and coconut milk during one of your regular weekly grocery shopping trips.

This coconut dessert soup can be enjoyed hot or cold and leftovers keep really well. My favorite topping to mix in is “just ripe” fresh mango, which I find adds a tart punch to the sweetness of the soup. That said, the soup is great eaten plain without anything extra at all.

Here’s how to make coconut dessert soup, step-by-step. The detailed tutorial with pictures and directions is at the bottom of the page.

Your turn! What tips can you share from your family’s recipe? Want to ask a question before you start cooking? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!

Coconut Dessert Soup Recipe

Makes: 4-6 Servings | Prep Time: 5 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
3 1/2 ounces Chinese rock sugar
1/2 cup tapioca pearls
2 1/2 cups water

Garnishes like fresh mango, cooked red beans, cooked taro or peanuts

Directions

1. Combine the milk, coconut milk and rock sugar in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes until the rock sugar is fully dissolved.

2. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce to low, add the tapioca pearls and, stirring constantly, simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes until the tapioca pearls are translucent.

3. Add the tapioca mixture to the milk mixture, stir well and cool for up to an hour.

4. Serve warm with garnishes to taste.

Step-By-Step Tutorial

This is a great pantry dessert. If you pick up tapioca pearls and Chinese rock sugar during your next trip to the Chinese market, all you’ll need to buy is milk and a can of coconut milk on your next weekly grocery shopping.

Tapioca pearls thicken the soup and provide a satisfying chewiness, while Chinese rock sugar adds a distinctive flavor and silky texture.

Combine the milk, coconut milk and rock sugar in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 10 minutes until the rock sugar is fully dissolved.

Bring the water to a boil. Reduce to low, add the tapioca pearls and, stirring constantly, simmer for 10 minutes. At this point, you’ll still see the white centers of the tapioca pearls.

Remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes until the tapioca pearls are translucent.

Add the tapioca mixture to the milk mixture.

Stir well. The soup can be eaten immediately while it’s hot, but I prefer to let it cool to a slightly-warmed temperature, about an hour.

Garnish with fresh mango, cooked red beans, cooked taro or peanuts, then serve warm.