When life gives lilikoi, make pudding

Life has been good since my friend Jim brought a bowl of fresh lilikoi into the office. He refills the bowl occasionally, and I take home more than my share.

Friends with fruit trees (or, in this case, vines) are the greatest.

With my bounty of juice and purée, I’ve been able to deal with a couple of recipe requests. Last week was a lilikoi cake; this week it’s Kathryn Kato’s request for a pudding in the Thai or Vietnamese style with tapioca pearls.

Pearls are little globules made from tapioca starch. They look like those tiny balls that rain down when you break up a piece of Styrofoam. The small pearls used here balloon up to resemble oversized fish eggs. Larger pearls make the "bubbles" in those popular bubble drinks. If you prefer that size, you can substitute, but you’ll have to cook them longer.

This type of pudding thickens without the use of flour or cornstarch, the pearls being a starch in themselves. That makes this an easy pudding project with little danger of scorching.

Instructions for preparing the pearls vary widely in recipes: Soak overnight, soak 10 minutes, don’t soak, rinse, don’t rinse, boil first then rinse … The difference is in how much starch you want to release, which leads to a pudding texture from soupy to solid.

This recipe yields a pudding that is quite firm once chilled, relaxing a little as it sits at room temperature. If you prefer a softer pudding, those instructions are at the end.

If you don’t have a friend to give you lilikoi, the fresh fruit is sold at some farmers markets and in Chinatown. R. Field Wine Co. sells purée in a 30-ounce jar for $26.99.

LILIKOI PUDDING WITH TAPIOCA PEARLS

1/2 cup small pearl tapioca (sold in Asian markets)
1 cup warm water
4 lilikoi (passion fruit)
2 cups water
Pinch salt
1 (13-ounce) can coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped fruit (mango, banana, strawberries, honeydew melon, kiwi or lychee are all good)

Soak tapioca in warm water 30 minutes.

Cut lilikoi in half, drain juice and set aside (you’ll need it at the end). Put seeds and pulp into blender; purée. Strain through fine-mesh sieve, stirring with spoon to remove bits of seed. You should have about 3 tablespoons (if not, add a little juice).

In medium saucepan, bring remaining 2 cups water and salt to boil. Add tapioca with soaking water. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook 5 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until most of the pearls turn from white to translucent. Mixture will be very thick and sticky; be careful it doesn’t burn on the bottom. If it seems to be getting too sticky, add a little more water.

Add coconut milk and return to boil. Reduce heat, add sugar and stir to dissolve. Cook another 5 minutes to thicken slightly. Remove from heat; add vanilla. Cover and let sit 30 minutes. Pearls will expand fully.

Stir in lilikoi. Taste and add more sugar if needed (keeping in mind that the lilikoi tang will mellow once the pudding is cold). Divide into dessert cups. Chill until firm.

Pour a little juice over pudding in each cup. Top with fruit. Makes 8 half-cup servings.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Note: The technique used here makes a firm pudding. For a softer pudding, drain off the water after soaking the pearls.

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