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+ servings
several cups of tako pudding in green, red and yellow

Crystal Coconut Pudding (Tako)

These traditional Thai layered coconut puddings have a creamy coconut base and a glossy "crystal" top that you can make into all kinds of flavours. They're naturally vegan, gluten free, no-bake, super easy, and of course totally tasty - perfect for the holidays! I've given you 3 flavour options, but feel free to experiment!
Servings 12 muffin size cups

Ingredients
 
 

Base Layer - Coconut Pudding

  • 1.5 oz rice flour (about cup + 2 Tbsp), (see note 1)
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 ½ cups coconut milk
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ teaspoon table salt , (see note 2)

Top Layer Option 1 - Green Pandan Coconut

  • 1 pandan leaf, about 18 inches
  • 1 ⅓ cups water
  • Few drops green food coloring, optional
  • 3 tablespoon mung bean starch, (see note 1)
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, (see note 1)
  • cup sugar
  • ¾ cup julienned young coconut meat , canned in syrup or fresh

Top Layer Option 2 - Red Water Chestnuts

  • 1 ¼ cups water
  • A quarter of a beet, or sub red food colouring
  • ¼ teaspoon Jasmine extract or coconut extract, optional
  • 3 tablespoon mung bean starch, (see note 1)
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, (see note 1)
  • cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 cup cooked or canned water chestnuts, small dice (see note 3)

Top Layer Option 3 - Golden Pineapple

  • 1 ¼ cups coconut water, no added sugar see note 4)
  • ¼ teaspoon edible gold dust, optional
  • 3 tablespoon mung bean starch, (see note 1)
  • 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, (see note 1)
  • cup sugar
  • 1 cup canned pineapple rings , cut into small pieces

Notes

  1. I recommend weighing the starch and flour in this recipe (use the metric toggle at the top of the ingredient list to show weight in grams), but if measuring by cup/tablespoon, fluff the starch to lighten it, then gently scoop without compacting and level it off with a straight edge. If you scoop into densely packed starch, or compact it as you scoop, you will end up with more than you need.
  2. If making the pineapple flavour, reduce the salt to ½ tsp. The salt is there to balance the sweetness of the top layer, but the acidity in the pineapple will also help balance the sweetness.
  3. Water chestnuts are rather plain tasting, so if you'd like to sweeten them soak them in hot simple syrup while you prep and make the bottom layer. You can also soak them a day ahead.
  4. You can also use pineapple juice instead of coconut water for a more pronounced pineapple flavour. If using, you will need to reduce the sugar to just 2 Tbsp; or omit it altogether if the juice is very sweet. If unsure, you can taste the cooked mixture and add more sugar as needed.

Instructions
 

  • Prepare the containers and have them all ready, lined up on a tray. You will need to fill them as soon as the pudding is done.

Bottom Layer - Salted Coconut Pudding:

  • In a small pot, combine the rice flour with water and stir until completely dissolved. Add coconut milk, sugar and salt and stir to mix.
    1.5 oz rice flour (about cup + 2 Tbsp), ½ cup water, 1 ½ cups coconut milk, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¾ teaspoon table salt
  • Cook the mixture over medium high heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula or a whisk, scraping the bottom as you go. Once the mixture starts to steam, lower the heat to medium and keep stirring. You will notice the mixture gradually getting thicker - keep stirring until it doesn’t look like it’s getting any thicker for at least 15 seconds - this means the mixture has fully thickened. If you stop stirring, the mixture should be bubbling. For this amount the process should take 5-8 minutes, depending on your heat. The final consistency should look like greek yogurt (I highly recommend watching the video to see what it should look like).
  • Right away, while the pudding is piping hot, spoon into your containers until about half full. Work quickly, as the pudding will stiffen as it cools, but if becomes too stiff simply heat it back up while stirring constantly over medium heat to soften it. If it’s hot and still feels too stiff, you can add a splash of water or coconut milk to loosen it up.
  • Let these cool at room temp while you make the top layer.

Top Layer option 1 - Green Pandan Coconut

  • Blend the pandan leaf with the water until fine. Strain into a liquid measuring cup and discard the fiber. Check to see that you have at least 1 ¼ cup of pandan juice; a little more is okay, but if you have less, add more water to make up the shortfall. If you want, add a few drops of green food coloring to intensify the colour.
    1 pandan leaf, 1 ⅓ cups water, Few drops green food coloring
  • Pour the pandan juice into a small pot, then add the mung bean starch, tapioca starch, and sugar; stir until all the starch has dissolved.
    3 tablespoon mung bean starch, 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, ⅓ cup sugar
  • Turn the heat on medium and stir constantly with a rubber spatula. As the mixture heats up, it'll gel up bit by bit. Keep stirring constantly until the whole mixture has become thick and translucent. Once the mixture doesn’t look like it’s changing for a good 15 seconds, the pudding has fully cooked. Add the coconut meat and stir for a minute or so to allow the mixture to heat back up before turning off the heat.
    ¾ cup julienned young coconut meat
  • Right away, spoon the pudding over the coconut layer, aiming for roughly the same amount for each layer. If for some reason the mixture has cooled down and become too stiff to spoon, simply heat it back up while stirring constantly over medium heat to soften it.
  • Allow the pudding to cool to room temp before serving. (See storage notes in the blog post.)

Top Layer option 2 - Red Water Chestnuts

  • If you have a flat grater, grate the beet directly into the water until the colour intensity is the way you like it. If you have a box grater, grate about ¼ of a medium beet and put it into the water. Stir to extract the colour and strain the liquid into a small pot, pressing out all the water.
    1 ¼ cups water, A quarter of a beet
  • Stir in mung bean starch, tapioca starch, sugar, and flavouring of your choice, if using; stir until the starch is all dissolved.
    ¼ teaspoon Jasmine extract or coconut extract, 3 tablespoon mung bean starch, 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
  • Turn the heat on medium and stir constantly with a rubber spatula. As the mixture heats up, it'll gel up bit by bit. Keep stirring constantly until the whole mixture has become thick and translucent. Once the mixture doesn’t look like it’s changing for a good 15 seconds, the pudding has fully cooked. Add the water chestnuts and stir for another minute to allow the mixture to heat back up before turning off the heat.
    1 cup cooked or canned water chestnuts
  • Right away, spoon the pudding over the coconut layer, aiming for roughly the same amount for each layer. If for some reason the mixture has cooled down and become too stiff to spoon, simply heat it back up while stirring constantly over medium heat to soften it.
  • Allow the pudding to cool to room temp before serving. (See storage notes in the blog post.)

Top Layer option 3 - Golden Pineapple

  • In a pot, combine the coconut water and the gold dust (if using) until it looks the way you like it, adding more gold dust if desired. Then add the mung bean starch, tapioca starch, and sugar; stir until the starches have completely dissolved.
    1 ¼ cups coconut water, ¼ teaspoon edible gold dust, 3 tablespoon mung bean starch, 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, ⅓ cup sugar
  • Turn the heat on medium and stir constantly with a rubber spatula. As the mixture heats up, it'll gel up bit by bit. Keep stirring constantly until the whole mixture has become thick and translucent. Once the mixture doesn’t look like it’s changing for a good 15 seconds, the pudding has fully cooked. Add the pineapple pieces and stir for another minute to allow the mixture to heat back up before turning off the heat.
    1 cup canned pineapple rings
  • Right away, spoon the pudding over the coconut layer, aiming for roughly the same amount for each layer. If for some reason the mixture has cooled down and become too stiff to spoon, simply heat it back up while stirring constantly over medium heat to soften it.
  • Allow the pudding to cool to room temp before serving. (See storage notes in the blog post.)
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