Friday, February 11, 2011

Gula Melaka and Coconut Milk Agar Agar

During my last trip to Melaka, I stocked up on quite a bit of gula melaka.  With an abundance supply sitting in my fridge, I googled for recipes to utilise them.

Found a few gula melaka agar agar recipes but decided to go for this one (by Amy of Che Cheh) which has minimal ingredients.

The coconut milk I used is not the suggested thick coconut milk.  I'm always willing to compromise on taste for a healthier version dessert/snack.  Anyway, my coconut layer occupies 2/3 of the whole layer.  Could this be due to the skim coconut milk used?

Ingredients
500ml water
180g gula melaka, chopped roughly (I used 160g)
3 teaspoons agar powder
1 pandan leaf, tied into a knot
300ml thick coconut milk (I used skim coconut milk)
pinch of salt

Method
  1. Place water, gula melaka, agar agar powder and pandan leaf into a pan and bring it to a boil.
  2. Lower heat and simmer until agar powder is completely dissolves.
  3. Remove pandan leaf.
  4. Add a pinch of salt to coconut milk and pour it into the same pan.
  5. Bring it to a boil and immediately remove from heat.
  6. Pour jelly into a glass bowl or cake tin.
  7. Leave jelly to cool and then chill in the refrigerator.
  8. The jelly should separate nicely into 2 layers – a clear gula melaka layer on the bottom and a coconut layer on top.
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18 comments:

  1. j3ss kitch3nFebruary 11, 2011 at 11:20 AM

    your agar agar is so beautiful! your layer is perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  2. DGFebruary 14, 2011 at 12:39 AM

    This is yummy! Love the separate layers on the agar2x. Did you stir while you cook? Cause I ever read somewhere that to get this separate layers, stir too much is not advisable. Don't know is true or not?

    ReplyDelete
  3. EdithFebruary 14, 2011 at 12:15 PM

    i love gula melaka.

    ReplyDelete
  4. sherlynFebruary 14, 2011 at 10:38 PM

    My favourite .. anythg with coconut, my fav. Yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Blessed HomemakerFebruary 18, 2011 at 4:06 PM

    Thanks Jess, but I don't know why my coconut layer is so thick.

    DG, yes I did stir when mixing in the coconut milk.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Blessed HomemakerFebruary 18, 2011 at 4:07 PM

    Edith,
    I'm sure you'll like this!

    Sherlyn,
    I'm just the opposite, don't much like coconut :P But I like gula melaka ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMarch 19, 2011 at 12:53 AM

    Hi,

    thanks for sharing this recipe
    i tried it n it was yummy but just some questions hope you can help me with .

    my gula melaka layer turn out cloudy unlike yours which is crystal clear

    for the coconut layer yours can see the coconut seperate but mine is like one thick coconut layer

    but i manage to get 2 seperate layers (:

    hope do get your reply soon

    thanks so much

    elis

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousJuly 29, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    hi possible advise me that which type of agar agar powder that u use? i love this gula melaka agar agar, but i dun know which agar agar that i can buy.... thanks and appreciated it

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousAugust 19, 2011 at 12:47 PM

    Hi...I tried this agar agar & flw as per your instructions but ended up with a whole block of gula melaka agar agar (like the gula melaka layer of the chendol agar agar) instead of your 2 nice layers. Don't know where went wrong. Any tips on this? Thank you.

    Jer

    ReplyDelete
  10. Blessed HomemakerOctober 6, 2011 at 11:02 AM

    elis,
    I have no idea as I'm not an expert. Maybe it's the coconut milk used? Maybe it's the temperature?

    Anony,
    I don't use a specific brand.

    Jer,
    So sorry, can't help you on this.

    ReplyDelete
  11. sherlynOctober 6, 2011 at 11:26 AM

    Blessed homemaker, is coconut cream = thick coconut milk?
    Can coconut cream make into thin coconut milk?

    All this cream and milk, thick and thin blurs me

    Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  12. Blessed HomemakerOctober 7, 2011 at 4:12 PM

    Sherlyn,
    I'm not sure too but i know coconut cream is thick. If I have coconut cream but recipe calls for thin coconut milk, I'll prob just dilute the cream with water :p. Not sure if it is the correct way but that's how I'll do it hahaha...

    ReplyDelete
  13. sherlynOctober 10, 2011 at 11:51 PM

    I think the same like you, diluting the cream to make it more watery. Today I tried to make kuih, so called for coconut milk, thus I diluted the coconut cream with milk instead of water. Anyway the kuih did not come out successful. Will try again.
    May I ask, your gula melaka agar agar can use the cream direct? since it ask for thick coconut milk.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Blessed HomemakerOctober 20, 2011 at 10:30 PM

    Sherlyn,
    Not sure about coconut cream as I never bought/use before. Find it too sinful thus I always buy skim coconut milk :P

    ReplyDelete
  15. sherlynOctober 21, 2011 at 12:36 AM

    Thanks Blessed Homemaker. *sigh* My agar agar failed to separate.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Blessed HomemakerOctober 21, 2011 at 1:25 AM

    Sherlyn,
    Oh.. so sorry to hear that. I guess I was lucky :P

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousNovember 22, 2011 at 3:12 PM

    Sherlyn,
    Could it be that you are not letting it cool enough before you refrigerate? Refrigeration too early can lead to the agar agar solidifying before the coconut milk is able to sink to the bottom.
    Just a thought.
    Dod

    ReplyDelete
  18. IreneAugust 5, 2012 at 7:44 AM

    Same here, mine failed to separate too.. Maybe Dod s correct, too early into d fridge..

    ReplyDelete