simbal

Southeast Asian Kitchen + Bar

Sugared Chinese doughnuts, vietnamese coffee dip

The origins of this dish started out no where near where it ended up.  Vietnamese style coffee is famous around the world for bringing together concentrated coffee and condensed milk.  We knew we wanted to incorporate the flavors that make Vietnamese coffee iconic into a dessert.  The original idea was inspired by the Italian dessert butterscotch budino with caramel sauce and whipped cream and sea salt.  The thinking was to make a vietnamese coffee pudding in place of the butterscotch pudding.  Condensed milk would replace the caramel sauce, and coconut cream would replace the whipped cream.  After many failed attempts of making a vietnamese coffee pudding we accidentally made a pudding that came out with more of a sauce consistency than a pudding consistency.  We decided to abandon the pudding altogether and use the sauce as a dip by aerating it in an isi canister.  Coffee and doughnuts naturally go together so we pair Chinese doughnuts that have been coated in sugar, sesame seeds, and freeze dried (instant) coffee.  Guest eat the dish by picking up the Chinese doughnut and dipping it into the Vietnamese coffee dip.