Buko Pandan Recipe
Pandan scented tapioca dessert with coconut milk, nata de coco, jackfruit, and macapuno.
After a trip to Thailand, Southeast Asian desserts have been on my mind. The flavors(!), tropical fruits, and more importantly, the textures. In my humble opinion, South Asian desserts have it going on in a way you don’t see in traditional American desserts. I brought my cravings to life with this Filipino Buko Pandan.
This recipe is similar to traditional Filipino Buko Pandan but with a few shortcuts. Traditionally, the nata de coco is made from scratch with pandan extract, agar-agar and coconut water. I skip this step (and save time) by purchasing pre-made nata de coco.
I make a milk mixture with 3 types of coconut milk - evaporated, cream, and sweetened and condensed. I scent the coconut milk mixture with liquid pandan extract and add small tapioca to make a pandan scented pudding. Then I add more textures in: the chopped sweet jackfruit, macapuno strips, and the nata de coco.
Some variations for Buko Pandan
I like to purchase the Jubes brand nata de coco because I am allergic to dyes and this brand is dye-free (Pandan extract is typically colored with chlorophyll). Jubes brand comes in many different flavors that would compliment this recipe: lychee, pandan and/or mango. You can also purchase your favorite brand of nata de coco or make it from scratch. There are many recipes available online if you’d prefer to go that route.
Tropical fruits such as canned lychees, longan fruit and rambutan or fresh chopped mango can also be options if you want to add even more flavors and textures.
I use coconut-based milks in this recipe but you can use dairy-based if that’s your preference. This recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free.
I love this recipe served as-is but this would also be a wonderful addition to layer your halo-halo in. I had a soft serve dessert at Càphê Roasters in Philly that had pandan tapioca layered into a parfait. You could do that with this dessert as well!
Filipino Buko Pandan
Serves: 8
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 8 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup small tapioca pearls
1 1/4 cup evaporated milk or coconut evaporated milk, plus more (12 ounce can)
11 ounce can sweetened condensed milk or coconut sweetened and condensed
1 tablespoon liquid pandan extract
3/4 coconut cream (13.5 ounce can)
20 ounce can sweet, ripe jackfruit
12 ounce package nata de coco
1 cup macapuno (from 12 ounce jar)
Instructions
Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, whisk in 1 cup small tapioca pearls and cook until the edges are transparent with white centers, about 8 minutes. Drain and rinse under cool water until no longer hot.
While the water comes to a boil, in a large bowl add 3/4 cup (about half can) evaporated milk and reserve the rest for later. Add one 11 ounce can sweetened and condensed milk, 3/4 cup coconut cream, 1 tablespoon liquid pandan extract and whisk to combine. Add the cooled tapioca and whisk breaking up any clumps.
Drain a 20-ounce can of jackfruit and cut the fruit into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1 cup chopped), add it to the bowl. Drain the liquid from a 12 ounce package of nata de coco and add it to the bowl. Add 1 cup of macapuno and stir to combine. Cover with plastic and set in the refrigerator 2 hours and up to overnight. The mixture will thicken while it rests.
When ready to serve, add 1/2 evaporated milk to the mixture and whisk to loosen the mixture to a pudding-like consistency.
Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Add a little evaporated milk to loosen.