Vietnamese Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng)

Name: Vietnamese Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng)
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

RECIPE: From Đặc Biệt: An Extra Special Vietnamese Cookbook by Nini Nguyen. Copyright © 2024. Reprinted by permission of Knopf Cooks, an imprint of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.

Photo: William Hereford

September 27, 2024

A New Orleans staple transforms the Vietnamese egg coffee into a frothy confection.

In her cookbook Đặc Biệt, Chef Nini Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American born and raised in New Orleans, marries together her Vietnamese culture with her hometown. Naturally, as coffee features prominently in both worlds, she includes Cà Phê Trứng, a Vietnamese egg coffee recipe, using a New Orleans staple. “I’d definitely recommend using Café du Monde when it comes to this recipe, a frothy confection that tastes amazingly like tiramisu,” Nguyen writes. “The addition of chicory pairs especially well with sweetened condensed milk.”

Ingredients

4 oz. strong ground coffee or espresso (like Café du Monde)
2 large egg yolks
3 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Tools:whisk or electric hand mixer, bowl
Glass:mug
Garnish:dust with cocoa powder (optional)

Preparation

In a bowl, combine the vanilla, egg yolks, condensed milk, and sugar. Whip for 5 minutes using a whisk or electric hand mixer until frothy. To check if the whip is frothy enough, put a small dollop on top of water. If it floats, it’s ready. Gently pour over your cup of hot coffee. Dust with cocoa powder if using.
NoteThe author recommends brewing your coffee with a Vietnamese-style phin filter. Pour 2 Tbsp. of ground coffee into the filter and top with 5 oz. of boiling water. Let it drip into a cup.