1. In a small pot, bring water to a boil. Rinse tapioca pearls, drain, and add to the boiling water. Return to boil, then cook over medium heat until the white tapioca pearls become clear (should be about 15-20 minutes).
2. Stir occasionally to prevent tapioca from sticking to the bottom. The pearls should expand and get increasingly gooey.
3. Once the tapioca is clear and looks like it has absorbed most of the water, add the coconut milk (and nondairy milk for other version), sugar and salt.
4. Mix well, return to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Keep stirring so it doesn't stick! Turn off heat, and mix in the vanilla extract.
Pour some pudding into a small bowl and be amazed by how delicious it is. The pudding will still be fairly gooey at this point, but it will thicken significantly as it cools. If you don't eat it all instantly, refrigerate what's left and the pudding will gel up and thicken! Top with mango, berries, or chopped almonds, or anything that's nearby and tasty! Enjoy!
This was all that was left of the pudding to take a picture of the next morning! It turned super thick and gooey. Nom nom. Because it was such a hit, I decided to make a double batch the next night. Much to my dismay, however, I realized we only had 1 can coconut milk left, and it was light, so, out of necessity, this healthier version of coconut tapioca pudding was born! It's much less decadent than the original version, but still delicious. It's less coconut-y, so tastes similar to traditional tapioca pudding, which is tasty too!
Also this recipe is posted to my awesome vegan blog that I co-write with my friend: http://www.aveganblarg.com/2011/06/coconut-tapioca-pudding.html [1]
Source of recipe: My friend Ariel and Gaelyn came up with this awesome recipe! It's so tasty!