Water Chestnuts in Coconut Broth

Directions

1. Soak the diced chestnuts in rose syrup or red salak syrup, if using. If not, simply soak them in diluted red food colouring. Leave for about 30 minutes up to 3 hours for the dice to absorb the aroma, flavour and colour of the syrup. To speed the process you can also cook the dice in the syrup over low heat in a saucepan, then leave to cool for about 15 minutes. Then strain the dice and set aside. (You can keep the syrup and make a drink by diluting with water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, let cool completely and keep in the fridge for a few days, add lemon juice as desired.)
2. In a saucepan, bring 2 cups water, sugar and Pandanus leaves to a gentle boil for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally. Set aside to let cool.
3. In a food container box with lid, add tapioca flour and the well-strained, coloured chestnut dice. Close the lid and shake well for the flour to coat all sides of the dice. The box should be large enough that you can shake and flour can coat all dice.
4. Bring 1 litre water to a boil in a medium pot. Place the coated dice in a strainer (or sieve) and shake excess flour off. Cook the dice in boiling water until the white flour coat turn translucent and reveal the red colour of the dice. Strain them and place them in the cool Pandanus syrup. Leave until ready to serve.

1. Place coconut milk, sugar, salt, and Pandanus leaf in a sauce pan. Put over medium low heat while stirring until sugar dissolves and the mixture gently boils.
2. Turn off heat and wait to cool or place in ice bath to get ready to serve.
3. In a small dessert cup or bowl, place about 1/4 cup of dice in syrup, add 2-3 tablespoons coconut syrup, top with crushed ice to serve.
4. This is summer dessert and sometimes jackfruit is available. It’s common to also add streaks of jackfruit or young coconut flesh to the dessert.