Vietnamese Fruit Cocktail- Chè Thái

Chè Thái is a Vietnamese 'fruit cocktail' dessert that you wouldn't typically find at a restaurant but you'd be served it if you went to a Vietnamese celebration or gathering at a home. Ask any Vietnamese person and they'll definitely know it, find it nostalgic and delicious.

It's a really refreshing, tetural and summery dessert that is so simple to make for a big group. Aside from having to cook the mock pomegranate seeds (Hạt lựu), you're just chopping up fruits and jellies from a can and mixing in coconut milk.

Whilst this is a Vietnamese dessert, the translation of this dish is 'Thai Dessert' as it borrows from the Thai dessert, Tub Tim Grop, that features 'red rubies' or 'mock pomegranate seeds' which are water chestnuts dyed red, dusted in tapioca powder and boiled so they imitate pomegranate seeds but have a chewy outside and crunchy inside. However when it comes to Vietnamese Chè, there is always lots of texture and many flavours, so this dessert has lots of different tropical fruits like jackfruit and lychees, Aiyu Jelly and crushed ice added to it, so these additions make it a bit similar to the Vietnamese Three Colour Drink called Chè ba màu or even a Filipino Halo Halo but without the ice-cream.

If you're making this for a group, it's best to make it the day of serving but ahead of time as it needs time in the fridge to chill.

Makes/Serves- 2L, Serves 10+ 

Ingredients- 9

Cooking Time- 30 minutes prep, 3 hours chilling

Skill Level- Easy

Ingredients

• 1 can (570g) lychees, syrup reserved 

• 1 can (570g)  jackfruit, syrup reserved

• 1 can (570g) toddy palm seed in syrup, drained

• 1 can (540g) Aiyu Jelly. I’ve used the Chin Chin brand.

• 500ml of Coconut Milk. I’ve used Chaokoh Pandan Scented Coconut Milk.

• 2 cups of crushed/whole ice

Mock Pomegranate seeds (Hạt lựu)/ Red Rubies

• 1 can (230g) Whole water chestnuts, drained

• 1 teaspoon of red food colouring

• ¾ cup of tapioca powder

Method

1. Prepare the ‘mock pomegranates’ first. Drain the water chestnuts and finely dice. Add red food colouring and mix until the water chestnuts are bright red. Add tapioca flour to a clean bowl and add in the water chestnuts, vigorously mixing so they are fully coated in the flour.

2. Place into a pot of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes or until they float to the top and have turned vibrant red in colour. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately plunge into a bowl of cold/ice water. Drain the water after 5 minutes and add fresh water. Set aside in the fridge. These will last approx 2 days in the fridge before losing their texture.

3. Drain the jackfruit and lychees but reserve the syrup into a cup to use later. Slice the jackfruit into strips and quarter the lychees and place into a large bowl.

4. Drain the toddy palm and slice into small bite sized pieces and place into the bowl.

5. Carefully drain the aiyu jelly and tip out. Dice into 3cm cubes and place into the bowl.

6. Drain the mock pomegranate seeds and add to the bowl.

7. Pour in the coconut milk and add approx 1 cup (250ml) of the reserved juice from the canned lychees and jackfruit. Add more to sweeten to taste.

8. Gently stir everything to combine and allow to chill in the fridge for approx 3 hours.

9. Ladle into bowls or glasses topped with crushed/whole ice and enjoy!

Watch the Process

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