Move over all those cappuccinos, black coffees and lattes and give your taste buds a chance at “egg coffee” or “custard coffee”
I am sure you all have heard about custard and coffee but have you ever heard about custard in the coffee? This coffee is a staple in Vietnam and their most popular beverage as well.
Famously called as “egg coffee”, it is a rich, dark and strong espresso topped up with meringue made of whipping together sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolk. It may not sound appealing at first, but we are confident that once you try it, you will be hooked.
It would be so easy to appreciate the taste of black coffee with a thick meringue that you would forget it contained egg. Because it is made of robusta beans, which are naturally strong and bitter, this coffee has a significantly stronger flavour than regular coffee.
It was originated in hanoi,vietnam in 1946 by a bartender Nguyen Van Giang working in a hotel during the French war.
Because there was a lack of milk during the war, Giang used his expertise to compensate by using egg yolks. This experiment was so successful that it quickly became a major hit, and people began asking for more.
This coffee was given the name "cà phê trng" by Nguyen Van Giang. People were so taken with his creation that he quit his job at the hotel and founded his own cafe solely to serve it. The cafe, known as "cafe Giang," is still operating, hidden in a narrow alley, and has been selling this coffee since 1946.
Whip up your own egg coffee at home by following this simple recipe:
Preparation time - 15 minutes
Brew time- 5 minutes
Total -20 minutes
Makes 4 cups
Ingredients needed:
For the meringue-
● 2 egg yolks
● ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
● 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the coffee:
● Instant coffee powder of your choice or you could even brew some coffee from fresh coffee grounds
● 4 ⅛ cups of hot water
Method:
● Gather all the ingredients and whisk together condensed milk, vanilla and egg yolks together until you get a creamy consistency.
● Brew your hot black coffee in your favourite cup and gently put 1 or 2 big tablespoon of the coffee meringue on the top of your coffee.
● You can even dust some cocoa powder on the top.(optional)
The recipe of this is coffee is relatively easy to follow, the trick is just to get the meringue consistency right. The right amount of ingredients and whisking will make it perfect.
You could even have this drink as a dessert as it has a soft and creamy touch to it.
But for all those coffee lovers, who can not risk making this at home could always check out authentic vietnamese cafes serving egg coffee in their town.