Pandan Jelly with Coconut Milk and Gula Melaka (aka Cendol)

Bread Snack Pastry and Dessert
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Pandan Jelly with Coconut Milk and Gula Melaka

Cendol, a pandan and coconut flavoured  dessert, is sold in many Singapore and Malaysia hawker stalls and food centres. Pandan jelly dessert is aromatic, sweet and thirst quenching - great for the humid weather there. Key ingredients are green bean flour, pandan leaves, coconut milk and gula melaka. It is served with crushed ice, ice cubes or shaved ice.

PANDAN JELLIES

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon green bean flour (ask for hoon kueh flour - sold in Asian grocery)

  • 1 tablespoon rice flour

  • ½ tablespoon cornflour

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • 1 ½ tablespoons sugar

  • 5- 6 pandan leaves (chopped)

  • 200 ml water

  • A large bowl half filled with iced water

  • Pastry piping bag

Method

1. Blend chopped pandan leaves with 200 ml water. Use a fine sieve to extract 150 ml of pandan infused water. (You may substitute with  a few drops of pandan essence if fresh pandan leaves are not available).

2. In a bowl, mix green bean flour, rice flour, cornflour, salt, sugar with 50 ml of pandan infused water.

3. Bring 100 ml of pandan infused water to the boil. Pour the flour mixture into the boiling pandan infused water and stir to combine. Continue stirring until the liquid thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Drop a few drops of liquid into cold water to see if it forms a soft jelly. If it does not form a jelly, continue to boil liquid to thicken further. You may need to add 1-2 teaspoons of cornflour (mixed with a little water) to help thicken the liquid.

4. Once the liquid has sufficiently thicken, half fill a large bowl with iced water. Pour the jellies liquid into a pastry piping bag.  Snip the tip (small snip) and pipe liquid into iced water – into 2 inch worm-like strands (see picture).

5. Leave the jellies in the iced water till the jellies firm up. Drain when firm and keep in the fridge.

COCONUT MILK

  • 1/2 can coconut milk (fresh coconut milk preferred, if available)

  • 1/8 tsp salt

  • 3 pandan leaves

Boil coconut milk, salt and pandan leaves to a boil. Once steam appears, turn off heat. Do not overcook.

GULA MELAKA SYRUP

  • 1 block gula melaka (coconut sugar)

  • 2 cups of water

  • 3 pandan leaves

Boil gula Melaka, water and pandan leaves until the sugar dissolve and turn syrupy. Strain the syrup.  Excess syrup may be kept in a jar in the fridge for future use or use for other recipes.

ASSEMBLY

1. You may serve cendol in a wine glass, a tall glass or a small bowl. Layer the components as follows:

2. Place 1 tablespoon of gula melaka syrup at the bottom of the glass or bowl.

3. Then add 2-3 tablespoons of pandan jellies.

4. Add 4-5 tablespoons of coconut milk on top.

5. Finally, add some ice cubes, crushed ice or shaved ice (whatever available).

The recommended proportion is for a small serving of the dessert (see picture). Depending on your taste, you may vary the amount of each of these components or increase the amounts for a large serving.

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