Haupia (Hawaiian Coconut Pudding)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 2-quart saucepan
• •8-inch square pan
• •Small whisk
• •Wet spatula for smoothing
• •Fine-mesh strainer, optional, for extra-smooth coconut milk

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the pan

   Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment, or wet the inside lightly with water so the haupia releases clean. If you have lāʻī, the ti leaf, save it for the serving board, not inside the pan. Haupia sets plain and white. That's its beauty.

2. 2

   Make the slurry

   Whisk the pia or arrowroot starch with 1/2 cup of the cool water until it looks smooth and milky, with no dry starch hiding at the bottom. Let it sit while you warm the coconut, then whisk it again right before it goes in. Starch settles fast, like it has somewhere else to be.

3. 3

   Warm the coconut

   In a heavy saucepan, combine the coconut milk, the remaining 1/2 cup water, sugar, and salt. Set it over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves and the edges just begin to tremble. Don't boil it hard. You want the niu, the coconut, clean and sweet, not scorched.

4. 4

   Thicken slowly

   Whisk the starch slurry once more, then pour it into the warm coconut in a slow stream while stirring constantly. Lower the heat and keep stirring 5 to 8 minutes, scraping the corners, until the haupia turns glossy, thick, and heavy enough that the whisk leaves a clear trail across the bottom of the pot.

   If you're using arrowroot or pia, keep the heat gentle once it thickens. If you're using cornstarch, let it give a few lazy bubbles for about a minute so the raw starch taste cooks out.
5. 5

   Pour and set

   Pour the thick haupia into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula. Tap the pan once or twice to settle it, then let it cool until the surface is no longer hot. Cover and chill at least 4 hours, until firm all the way to the center.

6. 6

   Cut and serve

   Lift the haupia from the pan and cut it with a wet knife into small squares. Wipe and wet the knife between cuts if you want the edges clean. Set the squares on lāʻī or banana leaf, cool and plain, beside the feast or at the end of it. No need dress it up. Let the coconut speak.

Chef Tips

• •Pia is the old Hawaiian starch if you can get it. Arrowroot is the closest common stand-in. Cornstarch works fine for the way many homes make haupia now, and no shame in that.
• •Use full-fat unsweetened coconut milk, not the thin drinking kind from a carton. Haupia should taste clean and round, with enough fat to set creamy instead of watery.
• •Keep the heat steady and your hand moving. Arrowroot turns glossy and tender when treated gently, but a fierce boil can make it loosen. Cornstarch is tougher and wants that short lazy bubble.
• •The sugar should stay modest. Haupia is the cool finish to a rich feast, not candy. If your coconut milk is naturally sweet, you can pull the sugar down to 6 tablespoons.
• •Leftover squares are good tucked beside fruit, packed with plate lunch, or eaten straight from the fridge. We no waste good food.

Advance Preparation

• •Haupia is built for make-ahead. Chill it at least 4 hours, or overnight, before cutting.
• •You can make it up to 2 days ahead. Keep it covered in the pan and cut it the day you serve so the edges stay clean.
• •If pressing fresh coconut milk, do it the same day you cook the haupia. Fresh coconut milk can sour if it sits too long.
• •Line the serving platter with ti leaf or banana leaf just before serving so the leaf stays fresh-looking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 95g)