How To Make Nam Wan

To make water chestnut "pomegranate seeds" (Short on time? Skip this part), mix red food color into 3/4 cup cold water. Soak diced water chestnuts in solution for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, drain juice from can of young coconut meat into a large 4-quart capacity container with lid (we're keeping this juice). Julienne the meat into slivers and add to container. Discard syrup from can of jackfruit. Julienne jackfruit meat into slivers and add to container.
Add the following items into container: coconut gel complete with syrup, sweet chick peas with syrup, young coconut juice, coconut cream, and amyl acetate flavoring essence. Stir to combine all ingredients.
In a large pot (for cooking tapioca pearls), preferably non-stick, bring to boil 2.5 quarts (10 cups) water. In a small pot (for cooking water chestnuts), bring to boil 1.5 quarts (6 cups) water. (Skip small pot if skipping water chestnut "pomegranate seeds" above.)
For water chestnut: (Short on time? Skip this part)
Meanwhile, drain water chestnuts of red water solution. Line a mixing bowl with shallow flat bottom with tapioca starch. Toss in a handful of drained water chestnuts, dispersing them evenly in a single layer. Toss the mixing bowl to create an even coating. Use a spoon to separate water chestnuts that may stick together to form larger clumps. Each water chestnut should be singly coated. Repeat process with another handful until all water chestnuts are coated. Dump entire contents into a strainer, sifting out and discarding leftover loose tapioca starch powder.

When water boils in small pot, turn heat down to medium low. Using a wooden spoon, stir the water with one hand to create movement while the other hand slowly shakes the strainer of tapioca-covered water chestnuts into boiling water, scattering loosely into the water. The objective is to have each water chestnut hit the moving boiling water individually to deter them from clumping. As the tapioca starch cooks, it will turn clear, gelatinous, and take on the pink color of the soaked water chestnut, forming a glossy "pomegranate seed". Frequently stir over low heat for 5 minutes. "Pomegranates" will float to the top.

Run entire pot under cold water to halt cooking and bring water temperature down. Pour out warm water, careful not to lose "pomegranates" in the process, and refill with cold water. Repeat process as needed until "pomegranates" sit in cold water. In cold water, "pomegranates" will sink. Cold water sets the tapioca coating so it won't stick to the strainer. Add ice cubes, if available, to further reduce temperature and enable faster chilling of dessert afterward. Strain "pomegranates" of water and quickly dump into container of mixed fruits and syrups. (Do not allow "pomegranates" to sit in strainer as they will start to stick to the strainer and to each other--they need to be transferred quickly into a liquid to keep them separated.) Stir all contents.
For tapioca pearls:
When water boils in large pot, turn heat down to medium low. Using the same wooden spoon, stir the water with one hand to create movement while the other hand slowly adds 1 1/2 cups tapioca pearls into boiling water, scattering loosely into the water. Again, frequently stir over low heat for 14-15 minutes, until tapioca pearls no longer have hard uncooked centers.

Run entire pot under cold water to halt cooking and bring water temperature down. Pour out warm water, careful not to lose tapioca pearls in the process, and refill with cold water. Repeat process as needed until pearls sit in cold water. Cold water sets the tapioca so it won't stick to the strainer. Add ice cubes, if available, to further reduce temperature and enable faster chilling of dessert afterward. Strain pearls of water and quickly dump into container of mixed fruits, syrups, and "pomegranates". (Again, do not allow them to sit in the strainer.) Stir all contents of the nam wan dessert.
Close the lid to the container and chill in refrigerator for at least 4-8 hours to allow tapioca pearls and "pomegranate seeds" to soak up and meld with syrup flavors. What once seemed like excess syrup will be soaked up and the nam wan dessert consistency will thicken. When ready, ladle approximately 3/4 cup to 1 cup of nam wan (depending on how big a portion you want) over crushed ice and serve with a spoon (Asian soup spoons are deep and work well with this dessert). Enjoy!

Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, but you'll need to add liquid to it as the tapioca will continue to soak up the syrup. Add fresh or canned coconut juice (coconut water, not milk) to bring it back to life or try adding evaporated milk for a different, creamier flavor (enjoyed in other Asian countries like China or Taiwan).

*We prefer the Thai brand Chaokoh for canned coconut cream. For this dessert recipe, we really like the coconut cream taste and texture of this brand, but If you are unable to find it, use another brand or use coconut milk instead, but you may need more than one can for flavor. What's the difference? Coconut cream is richer and smoother and, as you might imagine, fattier than coconut milk, but you need less of it in order to get the proper flavor without too much overall liquid.

**Feel free to experiment with different flavor combinations by using other tropical fruits, such as logans, lychees, palm seeds, or rambutans in syrup.