Coconut tapioca — the carioca street snack
A white, supple pancake made by setting moist cassava starch in a hot pan, folded over a filling of grated coconut and condensed milk. Gluten-free, ready in two minutes, it is the quintessential popular snack.
A white, supple pancake made by setting moist cassava starch in a hot pan, folded over a filling of grated coconut and condensed milk. Gluten-free, ready in two minutes, it is the quintessential popular snack.
Here is something Europe doesn't know: you throw this fine white cassava powder into a dry pan, and in an instant it bonds by itself into a supple pancake, as if by a chemist's magic. You fold it over grated coconut and a drizzle of sweet milk. I used to buy one on my way to the institute — it's warm, it's sweet, and it doesn't weigh on the stomach before a long morning at the microscope.
- •Moist cassava starch (goma de tapioca) — two spoonfuls per pancake (base)
- •Fresh grated coconut — a handful (filling)
- •Sweetened milk / sugar — a drizzle (sweetness)
Coconut tapioca — the carioca street snack
A white, supple pancake made by setting moist cassava starch in a hot pan, folded over a filling of grated coconut and condensed milk. Gluten-free, ready in two minutes, it is the quintessential popular snack.
Why this dish? In the Rio of labs and commutes to Ilha do Fundão, the minute tapioca — a cassava starch pancake cooked in a pan, filled with coconut — was the little snack bought on a street corner, a tropical vestige of an indigenous product unknown in Europe.
Here is something Europe doesn't know: you throw this fine white cassava powder into a dry pan, and in an instant it bonds by itself into a supple pancake, as if by a chemist's magic. You fold it over grated coconut and a drizzle of sweet milk. I used to buy one on my way to the institute — it's warm, it's sweet, and it doesn't weigh on the stomach before a long morning at the microscope.
Ingredients (period version)
- Moist cassava starch (goma de tapioca) — two spoonfuls per pancake (base)
- Fresh grated coconut — a handful (filling)
- Sweetened milk / sugar — a drizzle (sweetness)
Ingredients
- Hydrated tapioca starch (goma) or sieved and moistened tapioca granules — 3 tbsp per pancake (base)
- Grated coconut — 2 tbsp per pancake (filling)
- Sweetened condensed milk — 1 tbsp per pancake (sweetness)
Method
- Sift hydrated tapioca starch to get a fine, even powder (no lumps).
- Heat a non-stick pan dry over medium heat.
- Pour the starch in an even layer; within seconds it agglomerates into a pancake.
- When it releases from the pan, sprinkle with grated coconut and a drizzle of condensed milk.
- Fold the pancake in half and serve immediately, warm.
How it was made : Tapioca, from cassava starch, is a legacy of Brazil's indigenous peoples long before colonization. Prepared quickly on a hot griddle, it has remained a popular, portable snack, sold on streets and markets from the Northeast to the Southeast.
The contemporary twist : Fill with thin banana slices and a dash of cinnamon for a snack version; or ripe mango for a fully tropical twist.
Hertha Meyer · Charactorium
