There’s something about a weird and wonderful eggy drink that keeps folks curious, craving, and eventually hooked. From New York City’s whimsical egg cream soda to egg nog, there are plenty of varieties to sample, including Vietnam’s egg soda. This classic is another example of Vietnamese cuisine showing off its ability to make hard-to-ignore drinks (Vietnamese salted coffee takes your morning caffeine to new heights, by the way), but this time, it’s the foaminess that’s the star of the show. With the base ingredients being a combination of egg yolk, sweetened condensed milk, and a club soda, you end up with a concoction that promises some serious creaminess. In Vietnam it’s called soda sữa hột gà. Whipping up this Vietnamese treat at home is pretty simple as long as you have an electric whisk or a pair of chopsticks at hand.
The secret to an unthinkably rich and creamy texture is to make use of an electric mixer if you’re going for a more rigorous method or chopsticks if you’re open to a more manual approach. For best results, mix the egg yolk with the condensed milk using a blender for roughly 8 to 10 minutes before adding in the soda for its fizzy finale. Once mixed, the drink will be fluffy and this will be your biggest giveaway that your egg soda is ready.
Mixing the drink using a chopstick is another innovative method to achieve a super luxurious-textured egg soda. This non-electronic method will require more hand power but the thin chopsticks will also allow for precision to thoroughly beat the mixture in the glass until pureed. Again, look out for that frothy layer to ensure that it is as smooth as can be.
Tips to make a flawless Vietnamese egg soda every time
If you’re not in a chopsticks bearing household and you’re not much of a baker to keep an electric whisk near, don’t worry; there are other tools to keep your egg soda thick and creamy. A great tip for whisking up a storm (properly) is to grab a whisk or a fork to go old school and give your sweet and eggy creation some trusty elbow grease. You’ll need to give it a pretty good stir to achieve the same consistency as an electric whisk, but don’t be afraid of taking a little time to achieve this. It helps to stir the ingredients thoroughly before adding in more. At least 30 seconds of stirring per item is recommended (adjust according to the thickness), straining once you’re done to minimize any lumps.
Other than focusing on your whisking technique, you can make the most of added ingredients to really transform the taste and texture of your beverage. An addition of sweetened fresh milk is sometimes added to the Vietnamese egg soda recipe which ushers in a sweeter taste and ramps up the smooth texture. The soda keeps the drink pleasantly fizzy but the creaminess comes down to the density and richness of the milk. Whole milk is the best to use for this, rather than buttermilk, which can create a sour flavor. This works with the sugary condensed milk to leave you with a milky moustache that you’ll be too busy savoring sips to notice.
