gula melaka agar-agar

Palm sugar (commonly known as "gula melaka") was originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm or the date palm. Now it is also made from the sap of the sago and coconut palms and may be sold as "coconut sugar." The sugar is a golden brown paste, sold in tubes, blocks or tin cans. It may be light-colored or dark, soft and gooey or hard. As a lightly-processed product of cottage industry, it varies greatly from batch to batch.

Gula melaka is made by making several slits into the bud of a coconut tree and collecting the sap. Then, the sap is boiled until it thickens after which, in the traditional way, it is poured into bamboo tubes between 3-5 inches in length, and left to solidify to form cylindrical cake blocks. Alternatively it can be poured into glass jars or plastic bags. Gula melaka is used in some savory dishes but mainly in the local desserts and cakes of the Southeast Asian region.

Palm sugar is often used to sweeten savory food to balance out the salty flavor of fish. Its primary use in Thai cuisine is in sweets and desserts, and somewhat less often in curries and sauces.

(Source: Wikipedia)

I have made many types of agar-agar (jelly) over the years. I started out with the traditional type of agar-agar that locals are familiar with. In recent years, the Japanese have come up with a new type of "agar-agar" known as "konnyaku jelly" (which has a lighter texture and is more popular with children).

I found a recipe for gula melaka agar-agar from the internet. After some modifications by me, here is my recipe for gula melaka agar-agar.

This is a very easy recipe. I made the gula melaka agar-agar last night. This morning, I brought a container of the gula melaka agar-agar to the office and shared it amongst my colleagues.

Ingredients (milk layer)

1 tbsp agar-agar powder (white colour)

600 ml water

1/2 cup condensed milk

1/2 tsp almond essence

Ingredients (brown layer)

3 tbsp agar-agar powder (white colour)

1200 ml water

225g gula melaka

1/2 cup brown sugar

Method (milk layer)

1. Pour the water into a small pot and turn on the heat.

2. Whisk in the agar-agar.

3. Cook until the agar-agar is dissolved.

4. Add the almond essence and condensed milk and whisk thoroughly.

5. Pour in a 9" square cake pan and leave to cool.

6. When the mixture has cooled down, put the pan in the refrigerator and leave to set.

7. While the white layer is being set, proceed to make the brown layer.

Method (brown layer)

1. Boil all the ingredients together in a pot until dissolved.

2. Sieve the mixture using a fine sieve.

Method (assembly)

1. Cut the white layer into thin strips.

2. Place the white strips in a mould.

3. Pour in the brown layer. Make sure that the white strips are covered.

4. Leave to cool before putting the mould in the refrigerator to set.

5. When the mixture has set, unmould and serve.

Tip

If you are buying the agar-agar powder that is sold in satchets of 12g each, you will need 3 satchets. Simply combine the 3 satchets of the powder together and use a measuring spoon to measure 1 tbsp for the white layer. The rest of the powder can be used for the brown layer.