What is Thai pink milk? You may or may not have seen a glass of pink-colored milk during your visit to Thailand, or any Thai restaurant. And mind you, this is not to be mistaken with a strawberry milkshake.
We call this drink “Nom Yen” in Thai, which translates to cold/chilled milk. It is a common milky beverage that sometimes also comes in other colors like green.
In this article, we will take you through the taste, ingredients, and recipe behind this interesting drink!
Table of Contents
The taste of Thai pink milk
Like most of the popular drinks in Thailand, this pink drink tastes sweet and creamy with its own distinct smell. The smell also differs between the pink and green versions!
We usually serve this beverage cold with a lot of ice – which is suitable for the hot weather in Thailand.
The color and taste of this drink make it a popular drink among the younger population in Thailand (and adults as well).
Why is it pink? What's behind the color?
In order to understand the secret behind the pink or green color of this drink, we need to understand the ingredients behind this beverage.
In short, this drink is flavored milk and the beverage derives its color from the flavored syrup.
There are many ways to make this beverage but common key ingredients include:
- Flavored syrup ~1 tablespoon:
- The most common one you will see in Thailand is from Hale’s Blue Boy. Red sala flavor is used for the pink version and green cream soda flavor is used for the green version
- Condensed milk 2 teaspoons
- Fresh milk ~40 – 60ml (some shops prefer to use hot water and evaporated milk ~ 1 tablespoon)
- Ice cubes
How to make this drink?
Thai pink milk is actually very easy to make and you can make it within a few minutes:
- Mix flavored syrup with condensed milk
- Add fresh milk (or add hot water + evaporated milk)
- Stir well
- Add ice
“Hold on – so are you saying some Thai pink milk doesn’t contain any fresh milk?”, you might be asking this question. Yes, some recipe only contains condensed or evaporated milk which contains fewer nutrients than fresh milk. If you want to feel better about your drink, you can do your own version at home – using fresh milk that’s healthier.
Thai pink milk also come with some slight variations, for example as a smoothie. Krua.co shared a smoothie recipe here.
Should you try Thai pink milk?
Thai pink milk is a refreshing drink that is also very easy to make at home. You should try this to see if this is to your liking. And if it is, you can order one when you are out in restaurants or other eateries.
However, due to its ingredients consisting of syrup and sweetened, condensed milk, a cup can have as much as 300 – 400 Calories! Don’t drink too much if you don’t want to risk getting diabetes or other health issues! (Or you can opt for another popular Thai drinks)
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