Es Cendol Mocktail Recipe
Green pandan rice-flour jellies in cold coconut milk under a pour of dark palm sugar syrup, sweet and faintly salty over shaved ice.
- Category: Mocktail
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 0%
- Difficulty: Medium
- Prep time: ~3 min
- Alcohol-free: ✓
Ingredients
- Pandan cendol jellies80 ml (2.7 oz)
- Coconut milk120 ml (4.1 oz)
- Palm sugar syrup (gula jawa)45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Salt1 pinch
How to Make It
- Stir the pinch of salt into the coconut milk and keep it cold.
- Rinse the cendol jellies in cold water and drain them.
- Spoon the jellies into a tall glass and pack shaved ice on top.
- Pour the salted coconut milk over the ice, then the palm sugar syrup over that.
- Serve with a spoon and stir everything together before drinking.
Garnish
A last drizzle of palm sugar syrup over the ice
What it tastes like
The sweetness is pronounced, the texture is creamy and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Coconut milk
- Canned coconut milk — not to be confused with sweetened coconut cream, which is far sweeter. The can separates, so it is never used unshaken.
- Salt
- A pinch of salt lifts the sweetness and pulls the bitterness back — most of all in grapefruit and tomato drinks. Coarse salt for the rim; dissolved brine when it goes into the drink.
The Story
Known in Java as dawet, es cendol is one of Indonesia's classic hot-weather drinks, sold from carts and stalls with the syrup poured on to order. Similar drinks are found across much of Southeast Asia.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Es Cendol mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a highball glass.
- Does a Es Cendol contain alcohol?
- No. It is safe to serve to children, to anyone pregnant, and to whoever is driving.
- Is a Es Cendol hard to make?
- Moderate. A shaker or mixing glass plus a strainer covers it.
The main ingredient here is also a dream symbol: Milk in a dream
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.