The best Vietnamese cultural export ...

... (besides Paris by Night, of course (note sarcasm)) is Vietnamese iced coffee, or ca phe sua da. It's a dessert unto itself, I think--velvety smooth, sweet, with a kick of caffeine. Unlike regular coffee, it's hard to imagine eating a sweet dessert in addition to this. Any way, I wanted to share this recipe.

What you'll need to have:

• Ground coffee, coarsely ground. Anything less, and the grains would fall through the holes of the coffee press. You can't go wrong with something classic like Cafe du Monde.
  
• A Vietnamese coffee press set (see picture on the right).
  
• Sweetened condensed milk.
  
• Couple of glasses or mugs.

What you'll need to do:

1. Put two tablespoons of the condensed milk into one mug. (I estimate one tablespoon of condensed milk for each tablespoon of coffee, but I wouldn't go above three.)
   
2. Pack two tablespoons of the coffee into the base of the press, and screw the press down, making sure it's tight. You want the coffee to be fairly dense.
   
3. Place the coffee press set over the mug with the condensed milk in it and pour hot water into the press to the brim. You'll see that the coffee will drip slowly--very slowly--into the mug. The slower it is, stronger the punch of the coffee. A spoon can always be used to loosen the press a bit to let the water flow through faster, but admittedly, the process does take some time and patience.
   
4. While you're waiting, take the second glass or mug and fill it with ice. Take your time, young one! There's no rush. Nom on a gio chao quay and read Nguoi Viet while you wait.
   
5. When no more water is dripping through the press (a handful of minutes), stir the coffee and condensed milk well.
   
6. Pour the sweet, heavenly concoction over the ice and enjoy!