Nom yen or Thai pink milk is a very popular Thai drink and probably the easiest drink to make ever! It's sweet, creamy and comes with a pleasant, refreshing scent. The best part is you can whip it up in 5 minutes with just 2 ingredients!
A Little Bit Of Background
Nom Yen (นมเย็น) or Thai pink milk is a refreshing drink commonly sold, along with Thai iced tea, on the streets of Thailand. In Thai, "nom" means milk, while "yen," in this case, means iced. Literally, nom yen means iced milk but when we're talking about the name of a drink, it specifically means this Thai pink milk.
Though, recently many have adopted the cuter name that is nom chompoo, which translates to pink milk. So you might hear Thai people use those names interchangeably when they're talking about this pink drink.
Why We Love This Recipe
Traditionally, nom yen is made with warm water, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. In this recipe, I've limited the ingredients to only 2-3 items to make it very easy and "healthier." But don't worry, there's no compromise on taste here. And yes, you only need 5 minutes to make this drink!
And as you can probably imagine, nom yen is very popular among girls because of its color. Indeed, the pastel pink can be quite cute and send some people to their unicorn heaven (if you like unicorn foods, be sure to check out my butterfly pea milk!).
That's not to say this drink has just the look. In fact, its milkiness and sweet, pleasant flavor can get real men to walk around with it in their hands too. It's a great drink that can help cool you down on a summer day or balance out the heat in Thai dishes such as Thai holy basil chicken and tom yum goong.
Video Tutorial
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
Ingredients Notes
Milk: You can use any type of milk you want. I prefer whole milk but if you want to use low-fat, non-fat, or even plant based milk, that will work too.
Hale’s Blue Boy sala flavored syrup: Sala or salak is a type of fruit native to Southeast Asia. The syrup tastes nothing like the real fruit but it does taste good. I've checked the Hale's Blue Boy website and found that the sala syrup is vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free so you can replace cow's milk with other types of milk to suit your diet.
Evaporated milk (optional): The evaporated milk is usually drizzled on top of the iced version of the drink to add more creaminess and create beautiful layers.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Making Thai pink milk is ridiculously easy. As with many other Thai drinks, Thai pink milk is better with ice, especially crushed ice. So I suggest you prepare some ice too. You can make crushed ice using a blender or food processor. If you want to crush it the Thai way, you can put some ice in a bag and smash it with a pestle!
Step 1: Pour milk into a jug or any container large enough to hold all the milk and syrup.
Step 2: Add syrup to the milk.
Step 3: Stir the milk and syrup with a spoon to fully blend the two ingredients.
Step 4: Fill drinking glasses with ice.
Step 5: Pour the pink milk into the glasses.
Step 6: Drizzle evaporated milk on top of the drink in each glass.
Tips
- The sals syrup is always going to taste like sala syrup, but what makes the difference is the milk. If you don't have or don't want to use evaporated milk, I recommend using whole milk (if you can drink it), so you still get the creaminess with just the milk and the syrup.
- It's best to use cold milk here so you don't have to deal with the ice melting too fast and diluting the drink just as much.
- You can taste-test as you go and adjust the sweetness to your liking by adding more milk or syrup. But remember it should be sweet enough when served with ice.
Storing
If time is tight when you're having a party or a date night in, you can make this drink in advance and store it in a clean (preferably glass) bottle or jug in the refrigerator where it will keep for 2-3 days.
The same applies if you don't finish it within one setting or you just want to always have Thai pink milk ready to drink at home.
Pink Milk For Special Occasions
Isn't it obvious that this drink is perfect for Valentine's Day, dates, wedding anniversaries and also other special occasions for many reasons? Not only is the color so fitting, but nom yen is so good and easy to make!
Here's an idea, whip up my easy Thai garlic pork or Thai cashew chicken to pair with this drink. Trust me, you're going to love it! 😉
Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
Nom Yen | Thai Pink Milk | นมเย็น
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- ¼ cup Hale’s Blue Boy sala flavored syrup
To Serve
- 3 cups crushed ice
- ¼ cup evaporated milk to drizzle on top optional
Instructions
- Pour milk into a jug or any container large enough to hold all the milk and syrup.
- Add syrup to the milk.
- Stir the milk and syrup with a spoon to fully blend the two ingredients.
- Fill drinking glasses with ice.
- Pour the pink milk into the glasses.
- Drizzle evaporated milk on top of the drink in each glass.
Video
Notes
- The sals syrup is always going to taste like sala syrup, but what makes the difference is the milk. If you don't have or don't want to use evaporated milk, I recommend using whole milk (if you can drink it), so you still get the creaminess with just the milk and the syrup.
- It's best to use cold milk here so you don't have to deal with the ice melting too fast and diluting the drink just as much.
- You can taste-test as you go and adjust the sweetness to your liking by adding more milk or syrup. But remember it should be sweet enough when served with ice.