Che Chuoi (Banana and Tapioca Pearl Coconut Soup), Sweetened with Monk Fruit

Method

1. Soak 30g tapioca pearls and 30g tapioca starch strips in water for about 2 hours until swollen, then lift them out to drain. To speed this up, soak them in warm water around 60C.
2. Peel 500g ripe saba bananas, cut them into bite sized diagonal slices and marinate with 45g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and a little salt for 15 minutes.
3. Roast 100g peanuts in a hot pan over low heat, stirring for about 15 minutes until golden and the skins split. Cool them, rub off the skins and crush them coarsely rather than fine.
4. Bring 700ml water to a gentle boil, add 400ml coconut milk and the marinated bananas, stir well and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the bananas are around three quarters done.
5. Add the tapioca pearls, the tapioca starch strips and 108g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, and cook another 10 minutes until they are soft, then turn off the heat.
6. Ladle into bowls, scatter the crushed peanuts over the top and serve.

Tips

• Marinating the bananas with the kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and a little salt keeps the slices bright rather than dark.
• Soaking or boiling the tapioca pearls and tapioca starch strips first keeps the soup from souring as it sits.
• It tastes better cold, so ladle it into bowls and chill for about 30 minutes.
• Taste twice, 5 minutes apart, to judge the sweetness properly.
• Cook the bananas to about seven tenths done before the tapioca pearls go in, since bananas softened too early break apart in the pot.
• Crush the peanuts coarsely, since grinding them fine loses the nutty bite.