Vietnamese iced coffee
Cà phê sữa đá: strong phin-dripped coffee with sweetened condensed milk over ice
Cà phê sữa đá is the drink of Vietnam's pavement cafés, and in Saigon people sit on tiny plastic stools sipping it slowly from morning to night. Dark-roast coffee, traditionally robusta, drips slowly through a small metal filter called a phin onto a layer of sweetened condensed milk, then gets stirred and poured over ice. It is strong, sweet, chocolatey and very cold. Chef's tip: bloom the coffee with a splash of hot water for 30 seconds before filling the phin; it should then drip slowly, about 1–2 drops a second, for 4–5 minutes. Too fast and the coffee tastes thin, so press the inner filter down a little more next time.
- Total time
- 8 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 1
Ingredients
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Spoon 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk into a heatproof glass. Set a phin filter on top and add ⅔ oz dark-roast ground coffee, medium-coarse. Shake gently to level it, then put in the inner press and turn or press it lightly.
Step 2: Pour in about 20 ml of ½ cup just-boiled water, just enough to wet the grounds, and wait 30 seconds while they swell and bloom. This releases the gas and gives a fuller flavour.
1 minStep 3: Fill the phin with the rest of the water, put on the lid and let it drip for 4–5 minutes, until the dripping stops. You'll have a short, very strong, dark coffee sitting on the white milk.
5 minStep 4: Lift off the phin and stir until the coffee and milk are blended to a toffee colour. Fill a tall glass with 5 ½ oz ice cubes and pour the coffee over. Stir and drink cold.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 140 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 22 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vietnamese iced coffee take?
- About 8 minutes in total: 2 minutes to prepare and 6 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 1 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of sweetened condensed milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
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