Agar Agar Recipe Needed

Does anyone have a good recipe for the jelly type dessert? I bought a pack of the agar agar strands at Taste but now need direction as I haven't found a recipe online!


Thanks!

Dodie

There are 2 types of agar-agar ( white strands or in powder form)and may experience a slight difference in gel consistency.


A recipe from Amy Beh(chef) which you can modify if you want to omit the layering method or substitute the coconut milk with evaporated milk. You can use the agar agar strands for her recipe, just cut into half, rinse & boil in the water until melted.

Her recipes will turn out well and are yummy.

http://www.kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=1881

http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=359


My family likes a simple "wobbly" agar agar jelly without coconut layer, so this is another option which can keep for 1 wk in the fridge.



Ingredients

25gms of rinsed strands agar agar, cut into half

1500 ml water

170 - 200g sugar (or more)

a couple of screwpine leaves, tear & knotted

1-2 drops of red food colouring

OR blend 1 tin of lychees/longan with it's tinned syrup , strain to get juice and also reduce the original 1500 ml water & sugar amount accordingly.


Method

Tip: Use a bigger pot, so that when water added in, it will be only half-full and will not spillover when agar agar boil. Also use low heat which is easier to control to avoid spillover.


In a big pot and under low heat, add sugar and some water to make into syrup.

Then add in the rest of water, screwpine to boil for 10 mins, to bring out the screwpine's fragrance.

Off the heat, remove the screwpine so that agar agar will not be wasted as it will stick to the screwpine. Stir in the washed agar agar strands and coloring OR lychee/longan juice.

Under low heat, bring to boil again for 10 -15mins, stirring so that the agar agar do not get set at the bottom of pot. The strands need to be dissolved and the mixture look syrupy and have a slight gel consistency.

Remove pot from heat and let it cool for a couple of mins.

(You can scoop 2Tsp of mixture into a small saucer and chill in the freezer for a few mins. When it set, taste for sweetness and jelly consistency/wobbly.)

Adjust sweetness to taste with additional sugar.

If you want to have a higher level of wobbliness, add extra water to the pot and bring to boil again).

If you desire a firmer type, then boil agar agar mixture to reduce the overall mixture/water amount.


Stir & ladle into a dozen wet cups, each about 2/3 full, leave to cool. You can accelerate the setting process for agar agar, by putting all cups/moulds inside a plate/tray, add ice cubes around the cups to cool it.

Then chill in the fridge for about 1hr or more before serving.


Another option is to use a big wet mould or cake tin and then cut them up into shapes/wedges etc. For this, do not add extra water, as you will need firmer agar agar to cut into pcs, otherwise the agar agar will break easily.


The extra water version is to have it wobbly & served in the cups itself.


Note: if you cannot find screwpine, then omit it.

You can also serve agar agar topped with any tinned/fresh fruits.

This is another recipe which can be served by itself or complemented with tinned longan, peaches or lychees.


Soya Bean Milk Pudding

Ingredients

100 ml water and some screwpine

500 ml fresh soya milk (unsweetened. If sweetened, then reduce the required sugar)

60 gms sugar

10g agar agar strips(cut into half, soak in water for a couple of mins)


Method

Boil screwpine with water for a few mins until 50 ml left.

Discard screwpine.

Under low heat, add agar agar, soya bean milk into the screwpine water. Add sugar slowly and adjust to taste. Stir until agar agar dissolved and mixture boiled.

Off the heat and stir continuously for 5 mins to cool it down.

Strain into a wet pudding mold. Chill in fridge for 1-2 hrs.

For a basic fruit flavoured jelly:


500-750ml sweet fruit juice, such as mango

2 heaped tsp agar-agar powder


Heat the fruit juice until it boils. Add the agar-agar and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour into a jelly mould and allow to set in the fridge overnight.


You can real fruit pieces to it too.