Es Cendol

Method14 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Wash and drain the 50–80 g pandan leaves for the extract, then cut them into fine strips with scissors.

   Uses 50–80 g fresh or frozen pandan leaves

2. 2

   Step 2: Place pandan leaves and water (600 ml) in a blender. Puree until the leaves becomes very finely shredded. The time will depend on the motor of your blender. It took about 30 seconds to 1 minute in my Ninja blender.

   Uses washed finely cut extract pandan leaves · 600 ml water

3. 3

   Step 3: Strain the blended leaves through a fine-mesh strainer to obtain 600 ml pandan juice/extract. Keep the measured extract for the chosen cendol or dawet batter.

   Uses finely blended pandan and water

4. 4

   Step 4: Fill a soup pot with ice-cold drinking water, about 4 inches deep as the article describes, adding optional bath ice to keep it cold. Set a steamer basket over the pot to press the paste through later; this is a catch bath, not a steaming step.

   Uses Ice-cold drinking water for catching pressed cendol (quantity unspecified) · Ice cubes for cold-water catch bath (optional, quantity unspecified)

5. 5

   Step 5: Choose one blend. For cendol, stir the 600 ml pandan extract with 50 g mung-bean starch, 50 g cornstarch and optional 1 tsp culinary lye water. For dawet instead, use 120 g rice flour, 30 g tapioca starch and its optional 1 tsp culinary lye water with the same extract. Mix the selected blend in a saucepan; do not combine the two recipes.

   Uses 600 ml strained pandan extract · 50 gram mung bean starch (Indonesian: tepung hun kwe) · 50 gram cornstarch · 1 teaspoon lye water (optional, but highly recommended) · 120 gram rice flour (Indonesian: tepung beras) · 30 gram tapioca starch (Indonesian: tepung sagu) · 1 teaspoon lye water (optional, but highly recommended)

6. 6

   Step 6: Turn on the heat to medium, cook and stir at all time until it bubbles vigorously and thickened into a paste (no standing water).

   Uses one chosen smooth pandan-starch mixture

7. 7

   Step 7: Reduce the heat to low and continue stirring for about 5 minutes, until the selected paste is thick and stiff with no standing water.

   Stir thick cendol or dawet paste · 5 minUses thick bubbling pandan-starch paste

8. 8

   Step 8: Turn off the heat, transfer the paste to the prepared steamer basket.

   Uses cooked thick stiff cendol or dawet paste · prepared ice-cold drinking-water catch bath

9. 9

   Step 9: Use a spatula to press the hot paste through the basket holes into the ice-cold drinking-water bath. The strands should set and hold their shape. Refrigerate the strands in their bath for at least 1 hour to firm fully.

   Refrigerate pressed strands for at least one hour · 60 minUses cooked paste in basket over cold-water bath

10. 10

    Step 10: Place all coconut milk ingredients in a sauce pot and cook until the coconut milk starts to boil. Turn off the heat, and immediately remove the pan away from heat source.

    Uses 400 ml (1 can) coconut milk (Indonesian: santan) · 2-3 pandan leaves, knotted · 1 pinch salt

11. 11

    Step 11: Remove and discard the coconut-milk infusion leaves. Pour the coconut milk into a clean bowl or jar and let it cool for serving.

    Uses hot pandan-and-salt-infused coconut milk

12. 12

    Step 12: Put 200 g palm sugar, the separate 200 ml syrup water, the syrup’s 2–3 knotted pandan leaves and its pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves.

    Uses 200 gram palm sugar (Indonesian: gula Jawa) (*) · 200 ml water · 2-3 pandan leaves, knotted · 1 pinch salt

13. 13

    Step 13: Turn off the heat, discard the syrup infusion leaves and strain the syrup into a clean bowl or jar. Let it cool for serving.

    Uses hot dissolved palm-sugar pandan syrup

14. 14

    Step 14: Half-fill glasses or bowls with serving crushed/shaved ice. Drain portions of firm chilled strands from their bath and add them to nearly fill the vessels. Ladle on the prepared coconut milk and palm-sugar syrup to taste. Enjoy immediately with a spoon.

    Uses Crushed or shaved ice for serving (quantity unspecified) · firm chilled strands drained from their catch bath · cooled strained pandan coconut milk · cooled strained palm-sugar syrup