Coconut Jelly

Name: Coconut Jelly
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 1 cup water; 80g castor sugar; 1 tablespoon powdered gelatine; 100ml coconut milk; 2 egg whites

This light, fluffy, slightly sweet coconut jelly, often seen on yum cha trolleys, is also a popular finish to a spicy meal in Malaysia where it’s known as agar-agar kelapa. When I don’t have time to make my own coconut milk, I use Ayam Tetra Pak coconut milk for desserts rather than the canned one; it’s whiter and smoother so works better in sweet dishes, including that other Malaysian classic, gula melaka (see video below).

Makes 16 small squares

Ingredients

1 cup water
80g castor sugar
1 tablespoon powdered gelatine
100ml coconut milk
2 egg whites

Method

Place water, sugar and gelatine in a saucepan over low heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring often, until sugar has dissolved.
Stir in coconut milk and set aside to cool.
When cool, whisk egg whites until stiff.
Whisk in coconut milk mixture.
Rinse a deep-sided non-stick baking tray (about 1.5-2 litre capacity) and shake it dry.
Pour in mixture and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Cut coconut jelly into squares and serve.