Egg Coffee in all its delicious glory.
I’m starting a new feature on Legal Nomads, where I share a recipe a month from my travels. I’ve been coming home to my mum or visiting my brother and cooking all sorts of new dishes experienced abroad, but I rarely share those recipes here. I’m starting with a new discovery: egg coffee from Hanoi.
It sounds fairly strange, no? I had heard of putting eggs in coffee before, mostly from Scandinavian countries where it was used to clarify the brew and generate an amber-coloured cup of coffee with a milder taste. Says Martin Lersch in his post about Norwegian egg coffee:
The addition of proteins while preparing the coffee serves two purposes: 1) it helps the coffee grounds to flocculate, allowing them to sink faster to the bottom of the pot (this effect is probably more pronounced when using eggs) and 2) the proteins bind irreversibly to astringent and bitter tasting polyphenols in coffee to form insoluble complexes that will precipitate. The end result is a clearer coffee with a pleasant and mild taste. The bitterness is only barely noticeable, but the coffee still has enough “body” so it doesn’t feel too thin!
In contrast, Vietnamese egg coffee (Cà Phê Trứng) is anything but a clearer coffee with a mild taste. As it appears in the photo above, it is essentially a Cadbury Creme Egg with a hint of mocha. So the recipe below isn’t the healthiest, but it’s most definitely a satisfying snack on a cold day.
The recipe also sounds quite strange because you are whisking an egg yolk to frothy goodness with sweetened condensed milk (not straight sugar), but it was the one given to me by my host family and more importantly I’ve tried it here at my apartment and it works. Egg coffee for all!
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 3 teaspoons of Vietnamese coffee powder (Vietnamese coffee is available on Amazon here)
- 2 teaspoons of sweetened condensed milk
- Boiling water
Directions
- Brew a small cup of Vietnamese coffee. (Vietnamese coffee filters available on Amazon here. Also, for visual step-by-step of the brew process, there is a good set of photos explaining how to here.)
- Crack an egg and discard the whites.
- Put the yolk and the sweetened condensed milk in a small, deep bowl and whisk vigorously until you end up with a frothy, fluffy mixture like the one above. Add a tablespoon of the brewed coffee and whisk it in.
- In a clear coffee cup (we’re going for aesthetics here), pour in your brewed coffee, then add the fluffy egg mixture on top.
- Presto. Egg coffee.
Note: a reader, Graham, has tried this at home and says another option is to add the yolk to the coffee with the sweet milk and whisk all together. The foam will then rise to the top.
Note 2: If you don’t want to make it with Vietnamese coffee, an alternative in the USA is Cafe du Monde’s coffee with Chicory.
If you find yourself in Hanoi and want to try the egg coffee above, it is from Cafe Giang, 39 Nguyen Huu Huan street, in the Old Quarter. And it was fabulous.
-Jodi
I am a former lawyer from Montreal currently eating my way around the world, one country at a time. Traveling since April 1, 2008. See the 
My first reaction is to cringe but that coffee DOES look very good. I think I’d need to wrap my head around uncooked egg in a coffee, but I would like to try this at home. Thank you for sharing. And I love the new recipe feature. Look forward to the next one!
I’m a barista and we made this in our shop. It is SOOOOOO good. Tastes just like a good tiramisu. Were working on a way to address the egg issue–mostly it’s temp control–hitting that sweet spot of safety without the egg setting. If you want to make this at home, use pasteurized eggs.
LOL
As much as it sounds very yucky at first, I’m kinda intrigued to try it at home! Ermm..wonder how it taste like! :P
I agree with the other commenters – it does sound sort of gross, but the photo looks so good, and your descriptions amazing – i’d love to try it! off to get VN coffee…
Oh yeah! Definitely got to try this! In the Canary Islands (though I suspect this comes from South America) they make cortado “leche, leche”….which is the typical Spanish, strong but white coffee poured over a layer of condensed milk…but yours sounds even richer….can’t wait to try it.
Ah yes! Double milk coffee – super rich. Let me know how this turns out? I’d love to put up a gallery of readers who tried the recipe :)
Somehow I missed these while in Vietnam. Maybe it was due to obsession with iced coffee at the time. Just another reason to go back! I love the new series idea!
Thanks lady!
Sounds kind of like a coffee egg-nog combination of awesomeness. Once again, why do I visit your site when I’m already hungry?
Egg coffee sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe so I can try it at home. Unfortunately, it will be a while before I make it to Vietnam for this treat.
I’ll have to come to Italy instead and we can make a gluten-free feast with egg coffee.
I agree with those above that I’m not sure that I could ignore the fact that I am drinking an egg..although I did just eat half a bowl of brownie batter last night, and that had two raw eggs…
It’s perspective, right? We are used to it in some ways, but not others. People here in Vietnam eat a lot of the fertilized duck egg, and think it’s amusing that most foreigners won’t. Same in the Philippines (though they call it balut there). It’s all what you’re brought up with, and I think many of us (myself included) were brought up to remember that raw eggs can get you sick. But they’re so TASTY! ;)
My husband’s Sephardic Bulgarian grandmother used to make a sauce from raw eggs and powdered sugar for bunuelos (imagine a tilde over the “n”).No one died – at least not that they told me about. Still, I think I’d be happier about the raw egg thing if I had gone out to the chicken coop in my backyard and collected the egg myself.
Eh, fresh eggs are all you need. It’s fabulous ;)
I have tasted the ice coffes with condensed milk, but never this one. Sounds intriguing!
When I first saw you talk about this on FB, it brought back very vivid memories of my Sicilian grandfather making me egg coffee decades ago…he left the egg out to warm up, and then beat it until fluffy, both the yolk and white, and some added sugar. Slowly adding warm milk and hot coffee. It was my grown up treat when I stayed with him…I will try this and compare the two!
I have to admit I hate coffee. I’ve never finished a cup of the stuff in my life. However, the egg on top sounds interesting. Like the presentation and this may be worth trying (however, knowing me and coffee I probably wouldn’t like it either).
OMG bless you! I had a severe addiction to these in Hanoi. Glad I can recreate them at home now!
Glad to hear! Emailing you back now too…
Very strange, indeed. I love coffee, so I would like to try this sometime.
Is Vietnamese coffee powder like instant coffee/ Nescafe? Wonder if it would be similar to use any brewed coffee.
It’s actually quite different in taste. The closest thing is the Cafe du monde coffee – I updated the post with the info. There are quite a few differences between Vietnamese and general (Starbucks or other) coffee, some relating to the blends of coffee used (Vietnamese coffee is multi-blend; S’bux is usually single-blend), it’s customarily sun-dried for over 3 months (most coffees are dried approx 1 month) and it is slow-roasted so that it retains sweetness. Yes, I love coffee. :)
Sounds awesome and I insist you take us to find some this weekend! ;) I remember in Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley he mentions a guy he meets on the road who made coffee for them the “proper” way, with egg shells and chicory. I love adventures in coffee and aim to try digging up and drying my own chicory next summer in Wisconsin. :)
I’ve never heard of this before, but it certainly sounds like it’s worth a shot. Might head into Melbourne’s “Little Saigon” on the weekend and get some Pho while I’m at it too :)
mmm..definitely im going to try this! i hope it will turn out delicious. here in Philippines, we also use raw eggs to our orange soda and its yummy:)
My mother used to spoon-wisk a fresh egg yolk with sugar in a coffee mug and then pour hot fresh coffee slowly over the mixed yolk and sugar while wisking gently with a spoon. It will perk you up if you are feeling ill. The origin of this health remedy is southern Italian (Calabrese) and now we see it also “originates” elsewhere as a folk coffee recipe. The taste is great and the rush from egg yolk, sugar and fresh coffee blend is a remedy for those who looking for a quick burst of energy or to recover from illness. I refrain from enjoying it on regular basis as it is, in my ethnic tradition, a pick-me-up recovery drink rather than a substitute for my daily espresso.
I pride myself on being a coffee addict, but I’ve never heard of egg coffee. Trying this one morning as it combines my morning love (coffee) with my usual morning breakfast (eggs) :)
Very interesting coffee. I have not heard of this egg coffee before but its certainly worth trying.
YUM!! Great photos! Thanks.
Really interesting this egg coffee. I do not think I have tried this but I am tempted to.
Sounds delish! I’m going to try this out!
My three favorite food/drinks in one. I’ll have to give this one a try – thanks for the recipe :)
Never heard of Vietnamese Egg Nog, but looks delicious!
Well I’ve seen it posted on some menu boards here in Da Nang, Vietnam. I am encouraged to try one now. Cảm ơn bạn! (Thank you!)
I tried it this morning with Japanese drip coffee, a teaspoon of brown sugar and a raw egg yolk. It’s yummy!
I am not coffee drinker, I love my teas but this was interesting so I tried it. It’s nice. Mellow taste, think the egg yolk does remove some bitter taste in the coffee that I really dun like.
Thanks for this recipe!
Hello!
I just came upon your website this morning, and am so glad I did.
A question please?
You can slap me later for this……. I know it is vietnamese, so use vietnamese coffee.
I hate to spend the money though if it isn’t going to be used.
Just for experiment use …… could I use a good blend of normal coffee, until we see if we are going to like it?
By the way I have subscribed to your blog.
Have a Joyful Day :~D
Charlie
I don’t ever slap my readers, Charlie! ;) I am sure it can be tried with regular coffee, though the way the coffee is roasted and dried means that it is quite a bit more bitter than Vietnamese coffee. I’ve never tried it myself so please do report back and let us know how it goes!
Just found your website and tried the recipe using good quality Espresso, it was delicious! Great if you want to do breakfast in a hurry.
Hi.. This is a totally cool recipe.. I tried it but couldnt get the fluffy froth at all.. I dont know where I went wrong.. Please help me out with it.Thanks
Try adding a bit of sugar to the egg yolk when you beat it, then once it is fluffy, slowly add the condensed milk and keep beating. Hope it fluffs up for you!
Good thing I came across to your site. I loooooooooooooove coffee. I was surprised after reading this. I never knew that egg, milk and coffee can be mixed up. I will definitely try this recipe at home. Thanks for sharing..
Pure decadence and addictive. I measure coffee at this level and the coffee in the states is sub par. If your Hanoi go to Cafe Pho co, 11 Hang Gai. Walk through a creepy alley, opens up in to a gorgeous courtyard, walk up the spiral staircase and you enjoy your coffee overlooking Hanoi. Ping me, isorunner@yahoo if you want pics.