Sinh To Bo

Luxuriously rich and creamy, sweet avocado shakes are a favorite Vietnamese dessert or mid-afternoon snack. Avocados, known as "butter fruit" in Vietnam, are used as a dessert ingredient throughout southeast Asia. The Indonesian version of the avocado shake, es apokat, adds coffee or chocolate syrup. Brazilians enjoy creme de abacate. These smoothies may pack a lot of calories, but the fat in avocados is the kind that's good for you. So don't feel so guilty -- indulge!

Makes enough for 2 small shakes

• Ripe avocado -- 1
• Ice cubes -- 1 cup
• Milk -- 1/2 cup
• Sweetened, condensed milk -- 1/3 cup

Method

1. Scoop the avocado flesh from its shell and remove the seed.
2. Add the avocado flesh, ice cubes, sweetened, condensed milk and half of the regular milk to a blender. Process until smooth. Add more milk if needed to get the consistency you like.
3. Serve in tall glasses with a spoon or straw.

Variations

• Es Apokat (Indonesia): Substitute strong coffee for the milk. For another version, make the shake as above, but drip about 1/4 cup chocolate syrup around the edges of a tall glass before pouring in the shake. Very pretty!
• Creme de Abacate (Brazil): follow the recipe above, but add a squeeze of lime juice.
• Lower Fat (slightly) Version: Use 3 tablespoons of sugar instead of sweetened, condensed milk to sweeten the shake. Brown sugar or palm sugar are excellent choices. And choose nonfat or lowfat milk.