Puding Agar Gula Merah - Palm Sugar Agar Pudding

For most Indonesian children, the very first dessert they learn how to make is most likely an agar dessert.

A simple agar pudding only needs agar powder, sugar, and water. One only needs a saucepan and a spoon for the cooking utensils. After stirring for 5 minutes over the stovetop to bring it to a boil, a quick pour into molds, and 30 minutes in the fridge later, the agar pudding has set, chilled, and ready to serve.

Palm sugar agar pudding (Indonesian: agar srikaya or puding agar gula merah) is slightly more complex than the basic recipe. The addition of palm sugar, coconut milk, egg, and pandan leaves create a creamy and most indulgent agar pudding you will ever taste.

Palm sugar agar pudding is a perfect introductory dessert to introduce your friends/guests to Indonesian food. The combination of palm sugar, coconut milk, and pandan is a common theme in Indonesian sweets. Serving palm sugar agar pudding will be the perfect way to end a satisfying Indonesian meal.

Ingredients for palm sugar agar pudding

• palm sugar.
  Please use Indonesian palm sugar. You can substitute Indonesian palm sugar with Thai palm sugar, but your agar pudding will have paler color.
  Please do not substitute palm sugar with brown sugar since the flavor will become different.
• coconut milk
  I use canned coconut milk. You can use boxed coconut milk too, which is thinner, but the agar pudding will be less creamy.
• egg
• agar powder.
  I use Now Real Food agar powder. You can also use Indonesian Swallow Globe brand agar powder, but be sure it is the plain/unflavored variety.
• pandan leaves
  You can use fresh or frozen pandan leaves. You can find pandan leaves in your local Asian grocery. It is more common to find Frozen pandan leaves in the US, but the fresh ones sometimes appear in the produce section.

How to cook palm sugar agar pudding

1. Lightly beat an egg in a mixing bowl and set aside.
2. Grate palm sugar (if using the block version).
3. Add grated palm sugar, water, and pandan leaves to a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until boiling and the sugar has dissolved. Set aside for 15 minutes to let the pandan steep, then strain. Return the liquid to the saucepan, and discard the pandan leaves.
4. Add coconut milk and agar powder to the saucepan. Return the liquid to a boil while stirring continuously to ensure the agar powder is well mixed.
5. Pour half of the agar mixture into the egg while stirring quickly, then add the egg mixture back into the saucepan.
6. Return the pot to the stove and cook until boiling.
7. Pour the agar mixture into silicone muffin cups. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes at room temperature, then chill in the fridge until fully set.
8. To serve, remove the agar pudding from the mold and serve chilled.

FAQs

1. What can I use if I don’t have silicone muffin cups?

You can use ramekins or pretty bowls, and you can serve the pudding directly in the ramekin/bowl.

You can even use a loaf pan or a cake pan, but please make sure it can hold 6 cups in volume.

2. How long do I need to chill the agar pudding before serving?

Thirty minutes is usually enough to set the pudding in the fridge for single-serve molds. It may take up to two hours if using a loaf pan or a cake pan as a mold.

3. How long can the pudding keep in the fridge?

It should be okay for up to a week. After two days, the pudding may start to weep, but it is still perfectly safe to consume.

4. Can I make this agar pudding vegan-friendly?

Yes! You can omit the egg. It will be less indulgent without the egg, but the agar pudding will still be very delicious.