These tasty refreshing treats are a “knock off” of the classic Western Snow Cone, or was it the Westerners’ who plagiarized this scrumptious concoction? We may never know. Another thing we may never know is what specific ingredients make up this refreshing treat. At first glance, one might believe this is a traditional snow cone made by drizzling strawberry, lime, grape or "tigers blood" syrup over freshly shaved ice…think again. This Singapore and Malay classic begins with a shaved ice and is followed by sweet syrups, delicious accoutrements, and last minute garnishes. Since the variety of ingredients, and combinations, are endless, I have included a list of common ingredients I have seen over the past few weeks:
syrup flavors:
· Aloe vera (apparently it soothes sunburns and hungry tummies)
· Durian (more on this “aromatic” fruit later)
· Coconut milk-(goes perfectly with Palm Sugar Syrup)
· Palm Sugar syrup (This delicious syrup is one of our favorites. It is similar to brown sugar but has a richer caramel-e flavor, mmm.)
·Mango
· Strawberry
· Green Tea
Accoutrements:
· Aloe Vera Jelly
· Grass Jelly-exactly as it sounds, jelly made from grass:)
· Cubes of agar agar (think jell-o jigglers made with 1 part water instead of 4 parts water, very gelatinous)
· Attap Seeds (Palm seeds)- I must admit that for such a small ingredient these seeds intrigue me quite a bit. The transparent seeds are the immature fruit of the Attap Palm tree, found in Southeast Asia. They are small in size, about the size of a small marble, and have a very gummy/gelatinous texture. The initial flavor is sweet and starchy, which is followed by an interesting aftertaste. I don’t quite know how to explain the aftertaste of this fruit without turning people off from trying it, but here I go… The first time I bit into this interesting fruit it brought me back to some of my first experiences making pastry cream in a commercial kitchen. One particular kitchen had a very touchy gas range. I would adjust the knobs ever so lightly back and forth until I could get the heat just right. Occasionally a draft would come across the line and blow out my flickering flame. I noticed immediately when I could smell the faint aroma of propane. I don’t know why, but the pesky stove would always loose its flame when I was making pastry cream. Anyway, I started to associate the smell of pastry cream with its aromatic vanilla, egg, and starch notes; with the slightest hint propane. This combination of flavors/scents is exactly what I experienced when I first ate an attap seed. It is sweet and starchy in flavor, but has a delicate hint of....well propane... I hope this doesn’t discourage you from tasting it, because after all haven’t we all grown to love a delicious goat cheese, which can often be described as having “rustic barney”, or “grassy,” notes.
Last minute garnishes:
· Sweetened condensed milk
· Coconut milk
· Toasted peanuts
To the locals, and my husband, the best part of this dessert is not the toppings, but rather the surprise(s) found at the bottom. Although Ben didn’t know what the ingredients were at the bottom of his kachang when her first encountered them; after a minute of chewing he immediately turned to me and said, “it tastes like a quesadilla!” So what are those mystery ingredients, drumroll please......
· Red Adzuki Beans
· Sweet Corn kernals
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