LOD CHONG: Pandan Starch Jelly w/ Sweetened Coconut Milk Dessert

Step 1

SYRUP

Step 2

In a pot, add in the palm sugar and water. Place the lid on and cook on medium low heat for 2-4 minutes to slowly dissolve the sugar. Then uncover and break the sugar apart with a wooden spoon until all the sugar is fully dissolve. Turn off heat, set aside, and cool before using. ***If you want the syrup a little more thicker, add less water.

Step 3

COCONUT BASE

Step 4

In a pot add in the coconut milk, salt, and pandan leaf. Cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes to dissolve the salt and to warm up the milk a little bit. Then turn off heat and let it cool. Leave the pandan leaf to continue infusing as it sits.

Step 5

LOD CHONG/CENDOL

Step 6

In a blender, add in the chopped up Pandan leaves and water. Blend until the Pandan leaves are well blended. Strain over a bowl and squeeze out any excess liquid from the pandan leaves. Then discard the unwanted Pandan leaves. You now have pandan water. There should be a total of 6.5 cups of pandan water.

Step 7

In a pot, add in the mung bean starch, rice flour, sugar, salt, and the pandan water. Mix and then add in the pandan extract. Mix and check for color. If you want more green add a little bit more.

Step 8

Let's cook: Cook the batter on medium high heat for about 8-10 minutes while stirring all the way through. It is important to keep stirring as you cook so the starches to settle to the bottom and burn. The cooking process will take about 8-10 or more minutes to fully thicken the batter. Once it has thicken, keep stirring and mixing until the color becomes translucent (about 1-2 minutes of cooking after it has thicken). Turn off heat and check the consistency. Scoop a little and if you have a nice tail hanging out of the spoon you are good to go.

Step 9

Place the cendol press above a bucket of ice water and pour the batter in. Have someone help you hold the press if you don't have anything to hold it over the ice water. I used pvc pipes to put through the handle and placed it on top of the bucket of ice. Then press the batter down until it is used up. The longer you press, the longer the cendol will be. The shorter you press, the shorter the cendol will be. So it is up to you.

Step 10

You are now done! Let it sit in cold water to retain the shape. Serve when needed. Enjoy!****WHAT IF I CAN'T FIND FRESH PANDAN LEAVES? I suggest starting with 2 tsp of pandan extract/flavoring and work your way up to 1 Tbsp. You can more or less if you notice it's too strong or not strong enough in terms of taste and color.