Coffee is my absolute weakness, especially a bold cup made with Robusta coffee beans with some added sweetened condensed milk, aka Vietnamese coffee. My other half is Vietnamese, but I am sharing an unbiased opinion here: Vietnamese coffee is one of the best coffees out there! You have the aforementioned basic cup, served hot or cold (ca phe nau / ca phe sua), but there’s also yogurt coffee (sua chua ca phe), coconut coffee (ca phe cot dua), coffee smoothies (sinh to ca phe) and one of my favorites, VIETNAMESE EGG COFFEE (ca phe trung). I had countless cups of this during my time in Vietnam and I returned to the states with one mission: learning how to make it!
What Makes Vietnamese Coffee So Special?
Vietnamese coffee’s distinguished flavor profile is achieved through the use of 3 items:
- Dark roast Robusta beans: The use of these beans creates a much bolder coffee flavor, as opposed to Arabica beans, which has a weaker intensity level. My preferred brand is Cafe Du Monde, as pictured below.
- Sweetened condensed milk: The sweetness and creaminess in Vietnamese coffee cannot be achieved without this ingredient. Just one tablespoon of this thick version of sweetened milk balances out the robust flavors from the coffee grounds. It beats regular whole milk with table sugar, for sure!
- Phin filter: The phin filter is how traditional Vietnamese coffee is brewed. Typically, there is more coffee grounds packed into a phin filter, relative to the amount of hot water used for brewing the coffee,. This results in a stronger and highly caffeinated cup of java.
Vietnamese Egg Coffee
I’d like to define Vietnamese Egg Coffee as “liquid tiramisu.” No joke, it tastes just like tiramisu that has yet to be solidified. Both the drink and the Italian dessert are characterized by bold coffee flavors and a creaminess derived from egg yolks, with a finished product that is dusted with cocoa powder. Yummy!
Vietnamese Egg Coffee was founded during a time of milk shortage in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. A cafe owner creatively decided to substitute milk with eggs yolks, then combining it with condensed milk and bold coffee, giving birth to this popular caffeinated drink! I wonder what other milk substitutes can give rise to a culinary invention like this one!
While traditional Vietnamese egg coffee uses egg yolks, I discovered while recipe testing that adding egg whites in the foam MAY ACTUALLY WORK!! If you’re daring enough, please try my recipe below, but with added egg whites before whisking your egg foam, for a potentially airier egg/milk topping!
If you tried my recipe, make sure you leave me a comment below and/or subscribe to my YouTube channel and tag me @rackoflam #rackoflam on social media!
Vietnamese Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng) Recipe
Equipment
- 1 electric whisk
- 1 small phin filter
Ingredients
- 2 medium whole eggs or egg yolks (see Note 3 below)
- 2 tbsp Cafe du Monde ground coffee (or your bold coffee of choice)
- 1 tbsp sweetened condensed milk or to taste
- ½ cup boiling water or to taste
- 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
- cocoa powder optional
Instructions
- Set 2 refrigerated medium eggs aside for 15 minutes so they can return to room temperature.
PASTEURIZING THE EGGS (See Note 1 Below):
- Fill a small pot with enough water to fully submerge the eggs. Place the eggs into the pot. Bring the water temperature to 140℉, either on the stovetop or by using a sous vide, then allow the eggs to sit in constant 140℉ water for 3 minutes. If you are using large or jumbo eggs, leave the eggs in the water for 5 minutes. When time is up, remove from the water and you have pasteurized the eggs!
BREWING COFFEE W/ A PHIN FILTER (See Note 2 Below):
- Unscrew the filter screen, then add 2 tbsp of Cafe du Monde ground coffee (or your bold coffee grinds of choice)
- Screw the screen back in and place the phin filter over a mug/cup.
- Add just a tad of boiling water into the phin filter so the grinds can bloom, then fill it up with more boiling water.
- When the water has completely dripped, pour in the rest of the water and allow to fully drip.
- Optional: Place the coffee into a bowl of hot water to keep it toasty while you prepare the egg foam.
MAKING THE EGG FOAM:
- Place the yolks of the 2 pasteurized eggs into a deep bowl, then add 1 tbsp of sweetened condensed milk and 1/8 tsp vanilla extract.
- Beat the yolk/milk/vanilla mixture with an electric whisk until thick and frothy (about 3-5 minutes)
ASSEMBLING THE VIETNAMESE EGG COFFEE
- Spoon or pour the egg foam into the cup of brewed coffee. The egg foam should afloat the coffee if you have whisked it enough.
- Optional: dust with cocoa powder
- Enjoy!!
Video
Notes
- Pasteurizing raw eggs is critical to avoid the risk of contamination and salmonella when using them to make Vietnamese egg coffee. If you are fine with using unpasteurized eggs for my recipe, you may skip this step, but I would highly advise pasteurizing them.
- Brewing coffee with a phin filter is optional. Feel free to use a regular coffee maker, espresso machine or instant coffee. However, I do recommend bold coffee for my recipe (ie: from robusta beans).
- Traditional Vietnamese egg coffee only uses yolks. However, while testing the recipe, I tried using 2 whole eggs and found the coffee to taste quite nice with the addition of egg whites. Please try this out as well and let me know your thoughts! Do you like the egg coffee with 2 egg yolks or 2 whole eggs?
