Cendol

Cendol (Pandan Jelly, Coconut Milk & Gula Melaka over Shaved Ice)

Malaysia's iconic street dessert: fine shaved ice drenched in coconut milk and dark palm sugar syrup, topped with worm-like pandan jelly and red beans. This version replicates the hawker-style Penang/Singapore rendition using a home kitchen.

Prep

30 min

Cook

25 min

Total

55 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •60 g (¼ cup (≈1 oz)) mung bean starch (green pea flour / hoon kuan flour), traditional; cornflour + a few drops pandan paste gives a softer but less authentic noodle
• •300 ml (1¼ cups) water (for pandan juice)
• •10 g (2 tbsp chopped (≈⅓ oz)) pandan leaves, knotted; sub 1–2 tsp pandan paste if unavailable
• •1 g (¼ tsp) lime/calcium hydroxide (air kapur, optional), gives the classic firm-yet-soft noodle bite; skip if you cannot source food-grade lime water
• •200 g (7 oz) gula melaka (palm sugar), sub dark muscovado + 1 tsp molasses for a similar deep caramel note
• •120 ml (½ cup) water (for syrup)
• •2 g (1 pandan leaf) pandan leaf (for syrup), knotted
• •400 ml (1¾ cups) coconut milk, use full-fat canned coconut milk, not light
• •1 g (¼ tsp) salt, for the coconut milk; balances the sweetness
• •1 ml (¼ tsp) optional: pandan paste, deepens color and aroma if your fresh pandan is mild
• •200 g (1 cup (≈7 oz)) red beans (azuki), cooked and sweetened, traditionally canned red beans in syrup; home-cooked from dried is fine — simmer 40 min until tender, sweeten with 2 tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt
• •800 g (≈2 lb) ice (for shaving), a home ice shaver / blender on 'snow' setting or the finest blade of a food processor gives the soft 'ice apong' texture; a blender with a splash of water makes a coarse snow, still acceptable

Steps

1. 1 Cook red beans (if starting from dried): soak 150 g dried red beans 4 h, drain, simmer covered in plenty of water 40–55 min until tender (no chalky center). Drain, return to pot with 60 g sugar and a pinch of salt, cook 5 min more, cool. (Skip if using canned red beans in syrup.)
2. 2 Make pandan juice: blend 300 ml water with 10 g knotted pandan leaves for 30 seconds, then squeeze through muslin to extract 300 ml fragrant green juice. (If using pandan paste instead, mix 1 tsp paste into 300 ml water.)
3. 3 Prepare the cendol batter: whisk mung bean starch with 60 ml of the pandan juice and a drop of green food coloring (optional) into a smooth slurry. If using air kapur, dissolve 1 g in the remaining pandan juice, then combine with the slurry.
4. 4 Cook the cendol batter: pour into a saucepan, add the rest of the pandan juice, and stir constantly over medium heat 4–6 min until the mixture turns glossy, thick, and translucent-green (it will look glossy and ribbon off the spoon — that is the doneness cue; internal temp ~85 °C / 185 °F). Do not let it scorch.
5. 5 Extrude the noodles: rest the thickened batter 1 minute. Working over a large bowl of ice-cold water, press the batter through a metal sieve or a cendol strainer (or the holes of a cheese grater) so the green 'worms' drop straight into the water — this sets them instantly. Drain and refrigerate.
6. 6 Make the gula melaka syrup: combine 200 g chopped gula melaka, 120 ml water, and 1 knotted pandan leaf in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil, simmer 4–5 min until the palm sugar fully dissolves and the syrup coats the back of a spoon (~3–4 °Bx on a refractometer, or simply coats a metal spoon lightly). Cool slightly; remove pandan.
7. 7 Prepare the coconut milk: pour 400 ml coconut milk into a saucepan, add 1 g salt and ¼ tsp pandan paste (optional). Warm gently over low heat 2–3 min until just steaming — do NOT boil, or it will split and turn oily.
8. 8 Assemble each bowl (best done to order): pile 200 g finely shaved ice into a tall glass or bowl. Top with 3–4 tbsp drained cendol noodles and 2–3 tbsp sweetened red beans.
9. 9 Pour 60–80 ml warm coconut milk over the ice, then finish with 2–3 tbsp warm gula melaka syrup. Serve immediately with a long spoon and a wide straw; the ice should be visibly slushy and the syrup should pool darkly at the base.