How to make a Vietnamese coffee with powdered instant coffee?

How do you make Vietnamese coffee with instant coffee?

A recipe from Waka Coffee uses these amounts for one glass: 2 tsp instant coffee, 4 oz hot water, 3 tbsp sweetened condensed milk and 1 cup of ice.

1. Boil the water.
2. Stir the instant coffee into the hot water.
3. Froth the coffee with a milk frother for about 15 seconds.
4. Add the condensed milk and froth another 15 seconds.
5. Fill a glass with ice.
6. Pour the coffee slowly over the ice so layers stay distinct.

No frother? Stir hard with a spoon until the condensed milk is fully dissolved.

How sweet should it be?

Waka says the traditional drip method uses three or more tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk in the cup, so adjust to taste. The Woks of Life traditional recipe uses 1 tablespoon for a regular coffee, 2 for a sweet one and 3 for a very sweet, caramel-like cup. Start low and add more.

What is the traditional method?

The Woks of Life uses a 6 oz stainless phin filter, 3 tablespoons of ground coffee (Trung Nguyen, or any good French roast) and 6 oz of near-boiling water, or 8 oz for a weaker brew. Condensed milk goes in the cup first. Add about 2 tablespoons of hot water, wait about 5 seconds for the bloom, press the grounds lightly, pour in the rest and let it drip about 5 minutes, then stir. Pour over ice for the iced version.

Which instant coffee works best?

Waka notes that Vietnamese iced coffee is traditionally made with a dark roast, so a dark roast instant is a reasonable choice (our inference).

Tips

• Dissolve the coffee in the hot water first, as the recipe does.
• Pour the coffee slowly over the ice.
• It is sweet and contains caffeine; the traditional phin method is a different technique, so the instant version is a shortcut.