Sweet Tamarind Drink (Nuoc Da Me)

Nước đá me, literally "tamarind ice cubes" in Vietnamese, is a fairly common drink in Vietnam. It's served in various ways, such as with salted key lime rind preserves — this version uses fresh pineapple purée. It's sweet and tart at the same time but most important, it's so refreshing!

Yields: 8

Ingredients

6 cups water
1-1/2 cups fresh pineapple, peeled, halved, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 star anise pods, whole
5 cinnamon sticks
1-1/4 cups superfine sugar
1 pinch sea salt (or regular salt)
2/3 cup tamarind paste

Preparation

For the pineapple: In a blender or a mini-blender if you have one, blend the pineapple chunks with vanilla extract. Add a little water if the blender doesn't flow smoothly.

For the cinnamon and star anise: Slightly crush 1 stick of cinnamon and 1 star anise, using a hammer / meat pounder. Set aside.

For the simple syrup: In a saucepan, make simple syrup by dissolving the sugar in about 1 cup of water.

Infusing the syrup: Add 1 whole star anise pod and the crushed stick of cinnamon. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 2 minutes. Lower the heat to low and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from the stove and cool completely. Add the tamarind concentrate, pineapple purée and a pinch of salt.

Filtering: Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve. Discard the cinnamon and star anise remnants. Dissolve the syrup with the remaining water.

A sweet touch: Half the rest of the cinnamon sticks. Wrap each piece with a string of raffia. Decorate each glass with the cinnamon raffia ribbon.

Serve over ice in the decorated glasses; stir and enjoy with tea cakes or cookies. Top with a star anise pod on the rim of the glass.

You may also be interested in Cooking with Tamarind and Tamarind

See our other Top 10 Recipes Using Tamarind