Soy milk jellies with coffee syrup
“Unusually for an Asian nation, the Vietnamese have a fondness for coffee – a taste they acquired from their French colonisers. (Interestingly, Vietnam supplies the world coffee trade with much of its robusta beans, most of which end up as instant coffee.) The left-over syrup keeps well and tastes delicious spooned over ice-cream.”
📷 Leanne Kitchen
SERVES 6
2½ tsp powdered gelatine
160ml sweetened condensed milk
330ml soy milk
270g chopped palm sugar (jaggery)
25g coarsely ground coffee beans
Sprinkle the gelatine over 2 tablespoons cold water in a cup or small bowl and stand for 5 minutes or until softened.
Meanwhile, combine the condensed and soy milks in a small saucepan and gently heat over medium–low heat – do not simmer. Stir in the gelatine mixture and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until the gelatine has dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Divide among six 175ml glasses or serving bowls and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight – the jellies will just be lightly set.
Combine the palm sugar and 400ml water in a small saucepan and slowly bring to the boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add the coffee and cook for another 2 minutes for the flavours to infuse. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve, discarding the solids, then refrigerate until cold.
Pour some of the syrup over the jellies and serve with the remaining syrup on the side.
This is an edited extract from from East Culinary Adventures in Southeast Asia by Leanne Kitchen and Antony Suvalko (Published by Hardie Grant).
