Tapioca Pudding with Pineapple and Coconut Recipe

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the full milk, salt, tapioca, the scraped seeds from the vanilla pod, and the empty vanilla pod. Bring this mixture to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking until the tapioca pearls are translucent and tender, which should take about 20 minutes. Once cooked, stir in the coconut milk.

While the tapioca cooks, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl until the mixture lightens in color. This bowl needs to be big enough to hold half of the cooked tapioca mixture later.

Remove the cooked tapioca mixture from the heat. Carefully pour about half of it into the bowl with the whisked eggs and sugar, whisking constantly with a metal hand whisk to temper the eggs. This prevents them from scrambling. Once combined, pour this mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining tapioca.

Return the pan to medium heat. Continue whisking constantly for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens. It won't be extremely thick at this stage, as it will firm up more once chilled. Be sure not to use too high a heat, or the eggs will scramble.

Taste the pudding for sweetness; you can stir in a little more sugar if you like, making sure it dissolves completely. Transfer the tapioca pudding to a clean, cool bowl and remove the vanilla pod. Let it cool completely at room temperature.

Once cool, cover the bowl with cling film, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled and firm.