Photo: A raw egg and whisk
History has a role to play in Vietnamese’ love for pairing eggs with drinks. It started in the 1940s when milk was a scarce ingredient. Eggs quickly became as a substitute ingredient for milk.
Ca Phe Tung
Nguyen Van Giang – then a bartender at a hotel – ran out of milk to serve with coffee. Thus, he improvised. He whipped egg yolks, added them to coffee and served this drink to his customers. Since then, Ca Phe Tung, which directly translates to Egg Coffee, has become a favorite amongst Vietnamese. It was so popular and eventually led Giang to open his own café that specialises in Ca Phe Tung. Today, Giang is regarded as the original Vietnamese egg coffee king. Served hot or cold, Ca Phe Tung can be prepared by combining an egg, three teaspoons of Vietnamese coffee powder, two teaspoons of condensed milk and boiling/cold water. But, of course, the original recipe is still kept a family secret.
Egg Beer
When Giang’s son, Nyuyen Chi Hao, took over Giang café, he added a new creation to the menu – an ice cold beer topped with creamy egg yolks. This beverage was created by Hao in 1999 and is made by whipping egg yolks with sugar and butter. The mixture is added into a cup of ice cold beer. This creamy drink has been described by reviewers as a “dessert, plus the beer”.
Soda Sua Hot Ga
Soda Sua Hot Ga, literally translated to “soda, milk, egg yolks” is a Vietnamese egg soda. The good news is, this drink can be easily made at home with three ingredients – an egg yolk, two tablespoons of sweet condensed milk, and a cup of soda water. Whisking all three ingredients together creates a bubbly custard concoction. The drink can be served with ice.
Soda Sua Hot Ga (Trà Sữa Thái Kim Yến’s Facebook page)