BUKO PANDAN SALAD (Filipino Shredded Young Coconut with Pandan Jelly Dessert)

One word to describe this Filipino dessert….REFRESHING!  With this Brisbane summer heat that we are having, this Buko Pandan Dessert will definitely lift your spirit up and cools you down.  A Filipino tropical chilled dessert, it is compose of cubes of Pandan Jelly, Buko (shredded young coconut) and mini Sago Pearls in a not too sweet cream sauce.

I’ve only started making Buko Pandan last Halloween and since then I been making this easy version multiple of times now.  The sweetness is just right and the balance of sauce/jelly/buko/tapioca ratio are good.  Some people tend to drown this dessert with too much cream sauce….if you do that then you shouldn’t call it Buko Pandan Salad, it should be called Buko Pandan Drink.  I used frozen/defrosted shredded Buko (shredded young coconut) and instant Pandan jelly as I don’t have the time yet to do certain things from scratch.  But rest assure, this is a wonderful dessert to make specially this coming Yuletide season….simple recipe but definitely a keeper!

 

BUKO PANDAN SALAD                                                                                              (Filipino Shredded Young Coconut & Pandan Jelly Dessert)

INGREDIENTS:

200ml thickened cream

1 box (95g) Pandan Gulaman (Sweetened)

1 1/2 cup Buko (shredded young coconut)

1/2 cup + 2 tbspn condensed milk

1-2 tspn Pandan essence

 

1/4 cup uncooked mini Sago Pearls

3 cups water

*used U.S Measuring Cups & Spoons

 

COOKING & ASSEMBLING PROCEDURE:

~   In a small saucepan, bring your water to boil and pour in your uncooked mini Sago Pearls, simmer for 10 minutes.  Once the Sago Pearls are cooked, pour the contents of the saucepan through a sieve to strain out the hot water.  Place your sieve under your kitchen tap to lightly rinse the Sago Pearls with cold water then completely drain and let it cool off.

~  Cook your Pandan Gulaman/Jelly as instructed in the packet directions, let it cool/set completely before cutting the jelly into bite size cubes.

~  In a big mixing bowl, place your Buko (shredded young coconut) and cooked mini Sago Pearls then add in your thickened cream.

~  Pour in your condensed milk and Pandan essence.  Combine the mixture well by stirring it with a ladle a few times to make sure that the Pandan essence is well dispersed.  Into the bowl your cubed Pandan Gulaman/Jelly goes.

~  Stir your Buko Pandan Salad a couple of times to gently combine your Pandan Gulaman/Jelly.  Cover the bowl with a lid/clingwrap and refrigerate overnight.  Please serve this dessert chilled.

NOTES:

• I listed the Pandan essence as 1-2 tspn as different brand of essence have varying strength.  My advice is place 1 tspn first, give the mixture a good stirring, taste and see if you need that additional second tspn.

• I’ve used frozen shredded Buko for this recipe ~1x pkt (454g), once the packet has been defrosted, drain out the liquid.

• Pandan Gulaman/Jelly, mini Sago Pearls & frozen Buko are readily available in any Filipino Grocery Stores near you, give them a call first to make sure they stock these products.

• Shredded Buko (Young Coconut Meat) is totally different from Shredded Niyog/Coconut (Matured Coconut Meat).