How to Make Cendol
Blend the pandan leaves with water., Strain the water into a shallow pot., Add the rice, mung bean and tapioca flour., Simmer and stir to thicken., Combine the ingredients in a saucepan., Cook the mixture until the gula melaka and sugar melt down...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Blend the pandan leaves with water.
Cut the pandan leaves into small pieces to prepare them for blending.
Place the pandan leaves in a blender with around 20 ounces (about 600 grams) of water.
Blend at a high speed to infuse the water with the color and aroma of the pandan leaves.
No large chunks or pieces of the leaves should remain.If you’re short on time or don’t want to go to the trouble of blending fresh pandan leaves, look for pandan extract at your local Asian supermarket. -
Step 2: Strain the water into a shallow pot.
Position a fine mesh strainer over a pot or saucepan on the stovetop.
Pour the pandan leaf-infused water through the strainer to catch any leftover fibrous pieces.
Stir the water in the pot to check for stray chunks or inconsistencies in texture.The water should be a rich grass green color once the pandan leaves have been blended in. , Scoop 3-4 ounces (100g) of rice flour, 2 ounces of (50g) tapioca flour and half an ounce (10g) of mung bean flour into the pot with the pandan water.
Stir the mixture together with a spoon until the flour is evenly distributed.Traditionally, cendol is made using mung bean flour and/or rice flour.
Mung bean flour can be harder to find, but is easily substituted using ordinary rice flour alone.
A little tapioca flour can help thicken the jelly noodles and give them the right firm, chewy texture. , Turn the stove on to a low heat.
Allow the cendol ingredients to warm up, stirring occasionally.
As it heats, the mixture will turn into a thick paste.
Keep the heat low to prevent scorching the cendol mixture.Thickening the cendol mixture may take 10-15 minutes, possibly longer.
The water has to slowly evaporate before the mixture can set up into a batter. , In a separate saucepan, add the gula melaka, brown sugar and water.
Add any remaining whole pandan leaves to infuse the syrup with their flavor, if you wish.
For more authenticity and a more complex taste, add a splash of lye or alkaline water.Gula melaka is a product of southeast Asian origin.
It is made by boiling and condensing the sap from the date, coconut or sago palm and using it as a sweetener.Gula melaka comes packaged as a solid block.
Use a knife to shave away small sections of the gula melaka so that it will be easier to work with., Heat the gula melaka, brown sugar, water and pandan leaves at a medium temperature.
The gula melaka and sugar will melt quickly, so keep an eye on the saucepan to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn.
Stir the mixture as it cooks down.Supplementing the gula melaka with brown sugar will give the palm sugar syrup a rich caramel flavor while cutting down on the bitterness of the palm.
More pandan leaves are sometimes added to the palm sugar syrup as it cooks, but they are not required. , Turn the stove top down to the lowest setting and let the palm sugar syrup mixture continue to simmer as you finish preparing the cendol.
Break up any remaining lumps in the gula melaka or brown sugar.
The longer the mixture simmers, the smoother consistency it will have and the better represented each of the flavors will be.The palm sugar syrup should have a similar consistency to warm maple syrup.
If the syrup becomes too thick as it simmers, add more water slowly.
By the time it’s finished simmering, it should be thin enough to easily pour over the cendol. , Remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside.
Let the palm sugar syrup begin cooling.
This part of the process can be done while you’re straining or chilling the cendol so that the syrup will still be warm once it’s time to serve.Don’t let the palm sugar syrup cool down too much.
At room temperature, it will congeal and begin to harden.
If this happens, simply add a splash of water and reheat it until it melts and thins out again, stirring frequently. , Fill a bowl with cold water and ice cubes.
Pour the thickened cendol mixture into a pasta strainer.
Then, use a spoon or other implement with a broad, slightly curved surface to force the cendol through the holes in the strainer a little at a time.
You may have to wet the spoon periodically to keep the cendol from sticking.The ice water will cause the cendol to become firm so that the noodles will hold their shape.
A potato ricer can also be used to more easily strain the cendol noodles., In a separate saucepan, bring 1-2 cups of coconut milk to a boil briefly.
This will eliminate any bacteria if the milk is raw or untreated and can keep it from spoiling as quickly.
Reduce the heat gradually and let the milk cool.
Once it has returned to room temperature, place it in a smaller container and refrigerate it until it is to be added to the cendol.Simmer the coconut milk with pandan leaves, sugar and a pinch of sea salt and then chill it for a traditional style cendol.
It's always safest to boil coconut milk that has not been subjected to any pasteurization process., After the cendol noodles have had a few minutes to chill and set up, remove them from the cold water and scoop them into your serving dish of choice.
Cendol is typically served as an iced drink or eaten from a bowl like ice cream.Use a couple large spoonfuls of cendol for each serving.
The final dish should consist of roughly ⅓ cendol, ⅓ ice and/or sliced fruit and 1/3 coconut milk. , Pour several ounces of coconut milk onto the cendol noodles.
At this point, you can add ice, extra gula melaka sugar or various sliced fruits to suit your preference.
Some popular traditional choices in Indonesia and Malaysia are jackfruit, red beans, toddy palm seeds and durian.Make sure you buy liquid, drinkable coconut milk rather than the thicker condensed variety. , Lastly, drizzle a couple spoonfuls of the warm palm sugar syrup over the top of the cendol.
Add shaved ice, or ice cubes if you’re having it as a drink.
Cendol works perfectly as a light after-dinner dessert, a sweet appetizer to balance the heat of spicy cuisine or simply a refreshing beverage on a hot day.Use a small amount of palm sugar syrup and add more to taste.
It will be very sweet, so you’ll likely only need a little. -
Step 3: Add the rice
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Step 4: mung bean and tapioca flour.
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Step 5: Simmer and stir to thicken.
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Step 6: Combine the ingredients in a saucepan.
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Step 7: Cook the mixture until the gula melaka and sugar melt down.
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Step 8: Reduce the heat and simmer.
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Step 9: Set aside to cool.
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Step 10: Strain the cendol into cold water.
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Step 11: Ready the coconut milk.
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Step 12: Transfer the cendol noodles to a cup or bowl.
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Step 13: Top with coconut milk and other ingredients.
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Step 14: Ladle on the palm sugar syrup.
Detailed Guide
Cut the pandan leaves into small pieces to prepare them for blending.
Place the pandan leaves in a blender with around 20 ounces (about 600 grams) of water.
Blend at a high speed to infuse the water with the color and aroma of the pandan leaves.
No large chunks or pieces of the leaves should remain.If you’re short on time or don’t want to go to the trouble of blending fresh pandan leaves, look for pandan extract at your local Asian supermarket.
Position a fine mesh strainer over a pot or saucepan on the stovetop.
Pour the pandan leaf-infused water through the strainer to catch any leftover fibrous pieces.
Stir the water in the pot to check for stray chunks or inconsistencies in texture.The water should be a rich grass green color once the pandan leaves have been blended in. , Scoop 3-4 ounces (100g) of rice flour, 2 ounces of (50g) tapioca flour and half an ounce (10g) of mung bean flour into the pot with the pandan water.
Stir the mixture together with a spoon until the flour is evenly distributed.Traditionally, cendol is made using mung bean flour and/or rice flour.
Mung bean flour can be harder to find, but is easily substituted using ordinary rice flour alone.
A little tapioca flour can help thicken the jelly noodles and give them the right firm, chewy texture. , Turn the stove on to a low heat.
Allow the cendol ingredients to warm up, stirring occasionally.
As it heats, the mixture will turn into a thick paste.
Keep the heat low to prevent scorching the cendol mixture.Thickening the cendol mixture may take 10-15 minutes, possibly longer.
The water has to slowly evaporate before the mixture can set up into a batter. , In a separate saucepan, add the gula melaka, brown sugar and water.
Add any remaining whole pandan leaves to infuse the syrup with their flavor, if you wish.
For more authenticity and a more complex taste, add a splash of lye or alkaline water.Gula melaka is a product of southeast Asian origin.
It is made by boiling and condensing the sap from the date, coconut or sago palm and using it as a sweetener.Gula melaka comes packaged as a solid block.
Use a knife to shave away small sections of the gula melaka so that it will be easier to work with., Heat the gula melaka, brown sugar, water and pandan leaves at a medium temperature.
The gula melaka and sugar will melt quickly, so keep an eye on the saucepan to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn.
Stir the mixture as it cooks down.Supplementing the gula melaka with brown sugar will give the palm sugar syrup a rich caramel flavor while cutting down on the bitterness of the palm.
More pandan leaves are sometimes added to the palm sugar syrup as it cooks, but they are not required. , Turn the stove top down to the lowest setting and let the palm sugar syrup mixture continue to simmer as you finish preparing the cendol.
Break up any remaining lumps in the gula melaka or brown sugar.
The longer the mixture simmers, the smoother consistency it will have and the better represented each of the flavors will be.The palm sugar syrup should have a similar consistency to warm maple syrup.
If the syrup becomes too thick as it simmers, add more water slowly.
By the time it’s finished simmering, it should be thin enough to easily pour over the cendol. , Remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside.
Let the palm sugar syrup begin cooling.
This part of the process can be done while you’re straining or chilling the cendol so that the syrup will still be warm once it’s time to serve.Don’t let the palm sugar syrup cool down too much.
At room temperature, it will congeal and begin to harden.
If this happens, simply add a splash of water and reheat it until it melts and thins out again, stirring frequently. , Fill a bowl with cold water and ice cubes.
Pour the thickened cendol mixture into a pasta strainer.
Then, use a spoon or other implement with a broad, slightly curved surface to force the cendol through the holes in the strainer a little at a time.
You may have to wet the spoon periodically to keep the cendol from sticking.The ice water will cause the cendol to become firm so that the noodles will hold their shape.
A potato ricer can also be used to more easily strain the cendol noodles., In a separate saucepan, bring 1-2 cups of coconut milk to a boil briefly.
This will eliminate any bacteria if the milk is raw or untreated and can keep it from spoiling as quickly.
Reduce the heat gradually and let the milk cool.
Once it has returned to room temperature, place it in a smaller container and refrigerate it until it is to be added to the cendol.Simmer the coconut milk with pandan leaves, sugar and a pinch of sea salt and then chill it for a traditional style cendol.
It's always safest to boil coconut milk that has not been subjected to any pasteurization process., After the cendol noodles have had a few minutes to chill and set up, remove them from the cold water and scoop them into your serving dish of choice.
Cendol is typically served as an iced drink or eaten from a bowl like ice cream.Use a couple large spoonfuls of cendol for each serving.
The final dish should consist of roughly ⅓ cendol, ⅓ ice and/or sliced fruit and 1/3 coconut milk. , Pour several ounces of coconut milk onto the cendol noodles.
At this point, you can add ice, extra gula melaka sugar or various sliced fruits to suit your preference.
Some popular traditional choices in Indonesia and Malaysia are jackfruit, red beans, toddy palm seeds and durian.Make sure you buy liquid, drinkable coconut milk rather than the thicker condensed variety. , Lastly, drizzle a couple spoonfuls of the warm palm sugar syrup over the top of the cendol.
Add shaved ice, or ice cubes if you’re having it as a drink.
Cendol works perfectly as a light after-dinner dessert, a sweet appetizer to balance the heat of spicy cuisine or simply a refreshing beverage on a hot day.Use a small amount of palm sugar syrup and add more to taste.
It will be very sweet, so you’ll likely only need a little.
About the Author
Andrea Williams
Committed to making lifestyle accessible and understandable for everyone.
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